and procedural safeguards. BORA was enacted to affirm New Zealand’s commitment to the
ICCPR, and includes most of the rights guaranteed in that Covenant.
Of the Terrorism Conventions, New Zealand is now a party to all but the Nuclear Materials
Convention. New Zealand has stated that it will accede to that Convention and its
requirements have already been introduced into domestic law.
After the September 11 attacks, two significant pieces of counter-terrorism legislation were
enacted – the Terrorism Suppression Act 2003 and the omnibus Counter Terrorism Bill 2003,
the latter splitting into a number of Acts amending other pieces of legislation. Prior to this,
the International Terrorism (Emergency Powers) Act 1987 was the primary piece of antiterrorist legislation. This remains on the statute books. There are also provisions of relevance
in the Immigration Act.
The Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 and Counter-Terrorism Bill 2003
The Terrorism Suppression Act had its genesis in the Terrorism (Bombings and Financing)
Bill, which was introduced in April 2001 prior to the September 11 attacks. It was intended to
implement the domestic law requirements of the Terrorist Bombings Convention and the
Financing of Terrorism Convention, was non-controversial and had not been the subject of
any public submissions during the parliamentary process. However, after the events of
September 11, the Bill was reviewed and strengthened.
The result was the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. The Act prohibits certain listed terrorist
activities (including terrorist bombings and the financing of terrorism), requires compulsory
reporting of the existence of property belonging to terrorist organisations and expands the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of New Zealand courts in terrorist matters. It further provides for
the seizure of property the Prime Minister believes on reasonable grounds to be owned or
controlled by a terrorist entity. It is also a crime to participate in, or recruit for a terrorist
group. Mere membership of a terrorist entity, however, is not an offence.
The Prime Minister has powers to make interim and final designations of bodies as terrorist
(or associated) entities if he or she has good cause to suspect that an entity has knowingly
carried out, or has knowingly participated in, one or more terrorist acts. An act is a “terrorist
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