An account of the making of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001

Abstract

In this paper I want to address the relationship between policy and law through a discussion of the 2001 Amendment to the New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993. Discussions of justice often focus on analysis of court decisions or legislation. Legal policy is not often analysed or the process by which legal policy is formed and incorporated into the law. This paper is an attempt to try and fill that gap through a description of the process to enact the 2001 Human Rights Amendment Act. The narrative is based on my experience so it is acknowledged at the outset that others involved in the process may hold different views.