Law Commission Recommends Abolition Of Seditious Offences

The Law Commission has recommended the abolition of New Zealand’s seditious offences.

“These offences are too wide. They are unclear. They can be misused to suppress dissent,” says President, Sir Geoffrey Palmer. “Sedition has been used to muzzle vehement and unpopular political speech. It is high time the offences were removed from the New Zealand statute book.”

The Commission’s report, Reforming the Law of Sedition, was tabled in Parliament today, 5 April 2007. It recommends that the seditious offences set out in sections 81 to 85 of the Crimes Act 1961 be repealed and not replaced.

“Where behaviour that would be covered by the existing sedition provisions needs to be punished, it can be more appropriately dealt with by other provisions of the criminal law,” says Sir Geoffrey. “By abolishing sedition, we will better protect the values of democracy and free speech.”

Click here for a copy of the full Law Commission Report (pdf)

© Scoop Media