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Introduction

THE LAW COMMISSION has in hand a reference from its Minister relating to powers of entry, search and seizure. Because the project involves examining some hundreds of statutory provisions, it will be some time before it is completed.

It the meantime the Ministry of Justice, faced with certain deadlines in its legislative timetable, on 7 December 2001 requested advice from the Commission in the following terms:

The Ministry requests that the Law Commission, pursuant to its powers under section 6(2)(d) of the Law Commission Act 1985, provides advice by the end of February 2002 on the following issues relating to Police search powers:
1. The power to obtain assistance orders for the search of computer systems. These would demand reasonable assistance in locating and downloading information from the person or company concerned. This power would apply to third parties, not to suspects themselves.
2. The power to use tracking devices, which enable the location of objects such as packages and vehicles to be monitored.
3. Legislative amendments to correct the anomaly identified by the Court of Appeal in R v Aranui (1999) 16 CRNZ 304, relating to the use of evidence of offending obtained under an interception warrant.

That advice was provided on 14 February 2002. This study paper reproduces that advice edited only for consistency with the stylistic standards employed in its publications by the Commission.

Commissioner Dugdale was the Commissioner having the carriage of this project and Michael Josling was the researcher.