New Zealand Human Rights Commission Submission to the CAT in relation to NZ’s 6th periodic review 155. Article 12 of CAT requires “each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.” As the Committee is aware that same obligation applies to cases of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 156. The Commission notes that “Article 12 [of CAT] does not require an investigation by an independent body, much less by a judicial body. But the investigation must be prompt and impartial, i.e. serious, effective and not biased.”81 157. Although independence is not required by Article 12, this does not mean that it is not a desirable feature of an investigation.82 The Commission would welcome guidance from the Committee as to what circumstances, if any, may necessitate structural independence to comply with the impartiality requirement of Article 12. Scope of Claims resolution process 158. The MSD process deals with claims of abuse and mistreatment in social welfare homes and residences. Related processes are established on an ad hoc basis in relation to other State Departments and Ministries when claims are made – such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. However, procedures and outcomes are inconsistent. 159. It is at the discretion of the particular Ministries as to whether to investigate and establish a process for redress in any given case. In 2013, for example, the Ministry of Health determined that it would not investigate a former home for the intellectually disabled in South Auckland where disabled children were abused – including a young boy being left in a paddock to eat grass.83 CLAS 160. The CLAS process reflects international best practice in a number of respects. It  is independent and chaired by a Judge  treats people with dignity and respect 81 Nowak & McArthur, The United Nations Convention against Torture: A commentary (OUP, 2008) 435f. Nowak & McArthur acknowledge that in some circumstances independence will be necessary; R v Lippe [1991] 2 SCR 114. 83 http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/8652516/No-further-Parklands-investigations 82 61