3. Policy for dealing with oral submissions from victims
IntroductionSection 49(4) provides that:
Every registered victim of the offender is entitled to -
(a) appear and make oral submissions to the Board; and
(b) with the leave of the Board be represented by counsel; and
(c) be accompanied by one or more support persons (subject to any limitation on numbers imposed by the Board) who may, with the leave of the Board:
(i) speak in support of the victim; and
(ii) with the permission of the victim, speak on behalf of the victim.
Section 50A gives certain rights to a person:
(i) who is not a registered victim as defined by s4(1) but
(ii) is a victim as defined in s4 of the Victims Rights Act 2002.
To give effect to the above the Board has adopted the following policy.
Victims Policy:
(1) The general policy is that victims’ oral submissions will be heard at a time and place and in a manner convenient to the Board, taking into account the location and convenience of the victim.
(2) The Board will arrange a venue for this purpose. Wherever possible the meeting will be held at a place other than the prison where the offender is detained. It may be by way of tele-conference or video-conference.
(3) Where practicable, all members of the panel of the Board convened to consider parole for the offender in question will hear from the victims.
(4) Ideally victims’ oral submissions will be heard on the first day the panel is sitting, with the offender in question being seen on a subsequent day. This will allow as much time as possible for a summary of the submissions to be made available to the offender pursuant to s13(1) and (2). A panel member will convey the substance of the submissions to the offender at the attended hearing. A summary record will be placed on the offender’s file.
(5) Because of demands on the Board’s resources, the time allocated to the hearing of victims’ submissions cannot be unlimited. Panel Convenors will exercise the discretion given to them in s49(2)(c) of the Act to impose limits where necessary.
(6) A request under s49(4)(b) by a victim to be represented by counsel, at an attended hearing, will be considered on a case by case basis by the convenor of the hearing panel.
(7) The Board may permit victims to attend hearings when the offender is present, subject to the consent of the offender as provided for in s49(3)(b). Each application to be present with the offender will be considered on a case by case basis.
(8) The administration will be responsible for notifying the victim of the outcome of a hearing.
Sir David Carruthers
Chairperson
New Zealand Parole Board
Reviewed and confirmed as amended 10 October 2011.