New Zealand's Parliamentary Privilege Bill: The Empire Finally Strikes Back

Abstract

This article considers the concerns raised by the Parliamentary Privilege Bill 2013 (NZ), introduced into the New Zealand House of Representatives in December 2013. While the proposed legislation would accomplish a number of ends, the primary reason for its introduction is to give effect to a series of Privileges Committee reports that recommend overriding the effect of two particular decisions by the Privy Council and the New Zealand Supreme Court. As these bodies were and are the highest bodies in New Zealand’s curial hierarchy, the Bill represents a significant assertion of parliamentary authority over the views of the judiciary.