The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and Criminal Disclosure Act 2008 implement recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2015 report: The Crown in Court: A review of the Crown Proceedings Act and national security information in proceedings (NZLC R135, 2015). The question at the heart of the Law Commission's review was what should happen when information is relevant to legal proceedings but disclosing it may prejudice national security.

The Commission found the laws that determined how security-sensitive information should be dealt with in court proceedings were inadequate. The review touched on important constitutional matters, such as the fundamental rights of citizens to open justice and a fair trial, the respective roles of the judiciary and the executive, protecting national security, and principles of open government and democratic accountability.

Criminal Procedure Act 2011: see [CPA5.21.01], [CPA78.02], [CPA79.01], [CPA79.04], [CPA84.01A], [CPA90.01], [CPA91.01], [CPA94.01], [CPA101.02] – [CPA101.02A], [CPA101A.01]–[CPA101A.03], [CPA112.01], [CPA113A.01], [CPA146A.01], [CPA147A.01], [CPA215.03], [CPA217.08]

Criminal Disclosure Act 2008: see [CD4A.01], [CD6.04], [CD16.02], [CD26B.01], [CD27.03], [CD29.02], [CD30.04], [CD30A.01], [CD33.02])

Please see Adams on Criminal Law – What’s New for a complete list of the amended commentary, as well as a list of recent Criminal Procedure case law added.