Reforming the Rules of Evidence in Cases of Sexual Offending: Thoughts from Aotearoa/New Zealand

Abstract

Due to a number of high-profile cases of historical sexual offending by police officers making the headlines in 2006, reforming trial process and the admissibility rules in such cases is back on the political agenda in New Zealand. Public concern has resulted in the initiation and funding of a number of research projects aimed at reform. As members of one of those project teams, the authors discuss in this article some of the most contested rules of evidence in cases of sexual offending and possible changes to those rules, comparing the New Zealand provisions to those in other jurisdictions.