New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Transfer of prisoners

Legal area

Court

27 Sept 2022

WALLACE v DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS [2022] NZHC 2464

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2464
Court

High Court

Interim relief was refused: although applicants established a position to preserve and their judicial review grounds were arguable, the Court exercised its discretion against granting interim orders because the public and private repercussions of interrupting a time‑sensitive national rebalancing of staff and prisoners (acute system‑wide staffing shortages, safety risks, interdependent logistics) outweighed the preservation interest; Corrections' decisions were prima facie within statutory powers and responsive to urgent operational requirements.
10 Oct 2019

REEKIE v ATTORNEY-GENERAL [2019] NZHC 2578

Citation

[2019] NZHC 2578
Court

High Court

The defendant having successfully defended all claims is the successful party and, applying High Court Rules r14.2, is entitled to costs; there was no principled basis to reduce the award, so costs were awarded on a Category 2 Band B basis for all steps as sought.
1 Sept 2017

MITCHELL v ATTORNEY-GENERAL [2017] NZHC 2118

Citation

[2017] NZHC 2118
Court

High Court

Court held placement in the ARU amounted to de facto medical segregation but any s60 breaches were technical and de minimis; seizure of the electric jug was lawful under the Authorised Property Rules and s43 as a proportionate response to a reasonable belief of self-harm and no legitimate expectation existed to retain the jug; Transfer Decision complied with s54 mandatory considerations and was reasonable; use of force and waist restraint during transfer was authorised, proportionate and did not breach NZBORA ss9 or 23(5); overall claims dismissed.
29 Mar 2017

TEKANI v THE MANAGER, CHRISTCHURCH MENʼS PRISON [2017] NZHC 604

Citation

[2017] NZHC 604
Court

High Court

The transfer was a reasonable and lawful administrative decision justified by the probation officer's supervisory role under s25(1)(ab) and by s54(1)(b) as facilitating reintegration and reducing risk of immediate breach, therefore the judicial review application failed.

New Zealand Case Law

WALLACE v DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS [2022] NZHC 2464

REEKIE v ATTORNEY-GENERAL [2019] NZHC 2578

MITCHELL v ATTORNEY-GENERAL [2017] NZHC 2118

TEKANI v THE MANAGER, CHRISTCHURCH MENʼS PRISON [2017] NZHC 604