90 S e cti o n T w o – c iv il and politi cal rights • Article 21: (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the the Legislation Advisory Committee, the Parliamentary government of his country, directly or through freely Counsel Office, the Ombudsman, the Attorney-General chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of (with respect to consistency with the New Zealand Bill equal access to public service in his country. of Rights Act 1990 (BoRA)), and parliamentary select The right to justice is referred to in the International committees. 5 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 3 and After a bill is introduced to Parliament and has been given customary international law. In addition, the notion that its first reading, it is referred to a select committee. Select decision-makers, including judges, should abide by the committees are small groups of MPs who can examine principles of natural justice is a common law principle. bills in detail and hear public submissions on proposed The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons laws. with Disabilities (CRPD) explicitly protects the rights of Nearly all bills, once referred to a select committee, disabled people in relation to legal process in Article 12, are advertised in the metropolitan and major provincial on equal recognition before the law; Article 13, on access newspapers for submissions from interested organi- to justice; and Article 14, on the liberty and security of sations or individuals. Bills and guidance on how the person. to make a submission to select committees can be found on Parliament’s website. 6 People may appear New Zealand context Kaupapa o Aotearoa before select committees in person to support their The law must be accessible, intelligible, publicly available on Parliament’s website as soon as the clear and predictable select committee has reported back to the House. There are six main sources of law in New Zealand: Additionally, openness and transparency of law-making • laws made by Parliament – statutes or acts of is secured pursuant to several legislative enactments. The Parliament • laws made by the executive under the delegated authority of Parliament – regulations and rules written submissions. It is standard practice to make all submissions and officials’ advice to select committees Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), for example, allows members of the public to seek official documents from government departments and some other public bodies. • laws made by local authorities Fundamental human rights must be • some United Kingdom statutes made by the British protected by the law Parliament, following the Statute of Westminster New Zealand has constitutional safeguards designed to Adoption Act 1947 ensure adequate protection of human rights. The chaper • laws made by the courts – common law on democratic rights outlines the elements of the consti- • customary international law. 4 tution and the role of the executive, Parliament and the The law-drafting process in New Zealand strives to judiciary in providing checks and balances on each other. ensure that legislation is drafted only when it is needed, One way in which human rights standards are incorpo- consultative procedures are followed, and resultant laws rated into domestic law is through the BoRA. One of its are clearly drafted. Key players in this process include purposes is to “affirm New Zealand’s commitment to the 3 The ICCPR underscores the right to impartial and independent justice, cornerstones of the right to justice. For example, see Articles 3 and 14. 4 Customary international law is automatically a source of New Zealand law without the need for legislative action, and can thus be applied directly by the courts in the absence of any contrary statutory provision. 5 For more detail on the legislative drafting process, see the Legislative Advisory Committee Guidelines, accessible online at http://www2. justice.govt.nz/lac/pubs/2001/legislative_guide_2000/combined-guidelines-2007v2.pdf 6 http://www.parliament.govt.nz