The Courts, Family Control and Disability - Aspects of New Zealand's Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988
(1988) 18 VUWLR 345.
Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper No. 36/2015
22 Pages Posted: 14 Mar 2015 Last revised: 30 Apr 2015
Date Written: 1988
Abstract
New legislation has been passed in New Zealand to provide for adult guardianship and management of property. While the potential scope of the Act is very broad, it will be of particular advantage to the elderly, the psychiatrically ill and those with intellectual handicap. While the Act provides for substitute decision-making, intervention in a person's life is to be on "the least restrictive" basis, encouraging the individual to make decisions wherever possible. This article explores the background to the Act, the principles upon which it is based and the stages through which a particular case may go. Special attention is given to the balance of rights between the individual and the individual's family, and to the issues of sterilisation, abortion and organ donation. The law on these latter issues has not been clarified by the new Act, and has been made even more confused by recent judicial pronouncements.
Keywords: Incapacity, Power of Attorney, Family Court, Contact, Institution, Welfare Guardian, Mental Illness, Least Restriction, Sterilisation, Abortion.
JEL Classification: K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation