Thu 9 Feb 2017 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
With the Government announcing today that it will quash historic homosexual convictions, Rainbow Lawyer Stewart Dalley believes that proving the consensual nature of sexual relations that occurred over 30 years ago may prove highly difficult. The Senior Solicitor at Ryken and Associates says while the exact details of the scheme have not yet been made available, it seems unlikely that people would have to go to court to have their records cleared. “I share other people’s concerns that a pardon was not given en masse (as is happening in the UK) to people convicted of consensual sexual relations with another man of legal age,” he says. “It would also likely prove highly difficult for men to prove that their sexual relations were consensual. Rather, it is likely that the scheme would allow for the convicted man or his family to apply to the Ministry of Justice to have their conviction looked at. “The Ministry of Justice would then consider if the act they were convicted for is still illegal today, and if not they would have their record expunged. Given the nature of the conviction and the apology given by the government, one would hope that no application fee will apply.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 9th February 2017 - 5:50pm