The case of a grandmother who killed her granddaughter after caring for her and other family members for years raises the question: should New Zealand consider mental distress as a defence argument?
- Editor, New Zealand Law Journal; Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Waikato
Under New Zealand law, murder is the most serious charge available to prosecutors. The Christchurch terror attack raises the issue of how murder should be defined to reflect hate crimes.
New Zealand’s parliament this week passed an amendment to the crimes act, abolishing the “year and a day” rule. This raises questions about any proposed euthanasia laws and homicide more generally.
The International Association of Athletics Federations wants athletes who have differences of sexual development to medically reduce their testosterone levels. But this may be in breach of human rights.
In New Zealand, sexual crimes are describes as “crimes against religion, morality and public welfare”, not as crimes against a person. This disparity in language underscores the inequity in how the law treats women.
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