New Zealand
The New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993 provides that the Human Rights
Review Tribunal, a specialist judicial body, can hear complaints of human
rights violation and discrimination under the Act. A complainant or the Human
Rights Commission can bring civil proceedings before the Tribunal.291
The Tribunal was established in 1977 under the Human Rights Commission
Act, as the Equal Opportunities Tribunal. It became the Complaints Review
Tribunal in 1993 and the Human Rights Review Tribunal in 2002. The Tribunal
comprises a Chairperson and a panel of up to 20 members, appointed by the
Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. Deputy
Chairpersons are sometimes appointed to deal with particular cases.
The Tribunal is a statutory body that deals with matters relating to:
• some aspects of domestic human rights law, including unlawful
discrimination, sexual harassment and racial harassment
• the privacy principles in the Privacy Act
• the Code of Patients’ Rights (the Health and Disability (Code of Health and
Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996).
The Tribunal deals with cases brought under the Human Rights Act 1993, the
Privacy Act 1993 and the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994.p 171