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Steve Bonnar QC: Right to silence important part of justice system

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 18 Feb 2020, 10:26AM
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Steve Bonnar QC: Right to silence important part of justice system

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 18 Feb 2020, 10:26AM

The right to silence is being seen by one Queen's Counsel as an important part of our justice system.

There are renewed calls for it to be abolished following the latest horrific case of child abuse.

A four-year-old Flaxmere boy remains in Auckland's Starship Hospital after what police say was a brutal assault at the end of last month.

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft wants the right to silence gone, but Steve Bonnar QC told Mike Hosking it's a fundamental concept.

"The right of a person who is suspected or accused of a crime not to be compelled to incriminate themselves, is enshrined in our Bill of Rights and is recognised in many of the world's leading systems."

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