The State and other free access providers of

The State and other free access providers of legislation Law via the Internet Conference 2015 Sydney David Noble Chief Parliamentary Counsel New Zealand

Overview • Role and responsibility of the State in promulgating laws • Some (mostly NZ) history to illustrate this role and problems in practice over the years • Recent developments – “official on-line legislation” etc. • Current and future relationship between the State and other suppliers/providers/combiners of legislation

Duty of the State to promulgate law • For to the nature of Lawes belongeth a sufficient and clear Promulgation, such as may take away the excuse of Ignorance. . ” Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan 1651 • People must be told what Parliament is doing and must be able to read the letter of the law VUWSA v Government Printer Sir Richard Wild CJ [1973] 2 NZLR 21 • Our purpose here is to stress again the central constitutional function of the Government in making the law …. . known to the public. NZLC R 11 September 1989

Early Access to Legislation Arrangements The Code of Hammurabi (1754 BCE) On diorite stele 2. 25 metre (7. 4 ft) tall And on baked clay tablet Both held by the Louvre Museum, Paris

Early Access to Legislation Arrangements (2) Magna Carta 1215 Role of Archbishop Stephen Langton critical to both the drafting , sealing by King John and then access, to the Charter. Promulgation essentially achieved through Cathedral libraries holding the “Sheriff copies”

NZ – Initial arrangements for access William Colenso - Church Mission printer December 1834. “Government” printing included • the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand (printed in 1836) • Governor Hobson’s proclamations and • the Treaty of Waitangi in Māori (in 1840). The house in Paihia where Colenso worked the first printing press in New Zealand A “Stanhope” Printing Press: Collenso’s original British press later replaced by another from Columbia in 1842

Legislation and reviews - C 19 th to C 21 st • 1879 Revision of Statutes Act & 1895 Reprint of Statutes Act • 1902, 1903, 1905, 1908 & 1915 Statutes Compilation/Consolidation Acts (and Amendments). • 1920 Statutes Drafting & Compilation Act (and Amendments) • 1931 & 1957 Reprints and 1979 -2003 Reprinted Statutes Series • 1988 - NZ Law Commission Consultative Committee on Legislation Databases • 1988 -1990 sale of GPO & Acts & Regulations Printing Act 1989 • 2008 NZ LC Report on the Presentation of NZ Statute Law • 2012 - Legislation Act

Modern history : Paper + Lots of paper …… • Bound annual volumes of Acts and “regulations” • Hard copy reprints - but never a complete service • Odd indexes

1866 1906 “Sovereignty for sale: the law to be privatised in Printing Office move” National Business Review - 8 Dec 1988 – Warren Berryman 1967 1940 s

Modern history : (expensive transition) ……the move to the internet was slow – and cost the NZ taxpayer a lot! • Legislation database (the IP having been “lost” to the government during the GPO privatisation) purchased from commercial publishers $1. 12 m • The Public Access to Legislation Project 1998 – 2007 Ø Costs estimated at start in 2000 as being $5. 2 m Ø Audited costs at completion in 2008 - $14. 65 m • Interim Website and pre-publication services provided by commercial publishers: $13. 8 m (2002 -08) • Commercial website hosting of as made collections: $600, 000 (200811)

LENZ & the NZ Legislation website 2008 onwards The New Zealand Legislation website www. legislation. govt. nz launched in mid. January 2008. Electronic versions of Bills and Acts and Legislative Instruments freely available to all Official status since January 2014

Predominant access route is now via internet….

…. . and sales of hard copy prints have declined

Collaboration between State and NZLII PCO with NZLII provide – • New Zealand Acts As Enacted • The 1908 Consolidation • Bills and Regulations (soon) • preservation of the “shattering statutes” all in searchable OCR-PDF format.

New Zealand PCO and Pac. LII • “ A symbiotic relationship” – PCO’s PI Desk and Pac. LII • PCO’s Pacific Islands Drafting Desk – providing a training, mentoring, peer-reviewing and drafting service since 2009 • Access to legislation in the Pacific is “variable” eg: Niue http: //www. gov. nu/wb/pages/legislation/niue-acts. php & Cook Islands http: //www. mfem. gov. ck/latest-news-18/585 -order-in-executive-councildesignates-foreign-governments-under-the-2013 -provision-of-customer-information-act • Important role for PILON in supporting the regional LII as crucial access to law resource

1 st Revision Programme Future Developments in access to legislation by the State, NZLII and other free “providers” • As-made Statutory Regulations PDF database via NZLII • Bills from 1860 s being prepared also as a PDF database via NZLII • ASI Project - Publishing all “tertiary legislation” with Government and Parliament support • Making the NZL website more “mobile-friendly” • Use of the database by others e. g. http: //legolas. nz/ Gov. Hack 2015 winners engaging the public in law making http: //www. pco. parliament. govt. nz/pco-news/#asip

And beyond? What else can we each do? • Respective roles – publishing “under authority” – “official status” The State as supplier of “official” legislation – LIIs as providers and “combiners” • Co-operate and collaborate to provide (critically) free access Leverage off the databases and infrastructure already existing to improve accessibility and usability – without the costs of the private sector offerings • Support for smaller jurisdictions eg. NZ’s PCO’s Pacific Drafting Desk model is heavily dependent upon Pac. LII

And finally, the constant challenge for us all – keeping up with the flow is not a new problem! 1912 Cartoon: “The Session’s Batch” Prime Minister Massey holding various “babies” representing some of the 1912 Parliament’s Bills: “Not bad for a start, eh? ”

Acknowledgments & Any Questions Thank you for listening David. noble@parliament. govt. nz