QC to investigate publication of victims' names on website

John Marshall QC will undertake an inquiry into the part the Ministry of Justice played in the publication of names of victims on the Judicial Decisions Online website, Justice Minister Simon Power announced today.

“Mr Marshall will look at the circumstances surrounding the publication of the names contained in judicial decisions, and report back to me with regard to any changes that could be made to the Ministry's procedures to prevent this happening again,” Mr Power said.

“The inquiry will not review the processes for how judges note and mark their decisions for distribution – that’s a matter for the Chief High Court Judge – but it will look at how the Ministry processes judicial decisions before putting them on to the internet.”

Mr Power expects the inquiry to take several weeks.

Background

John Marshall is a Queen’s Counsel in Wellington, practising in the areas of arbitration, mediation, and civil litigation. He was President of the New Zealand Law Society from 2007 to 2010 and is now the Chief Commissioner at the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.