From next month there will be a new commission within the criminal justice system to investigate possible miscarriages of justice.
The Criminal Case Review Commission will be an independent Crown entity investigating cases where people could have been wrongly imprisoned.
Justice Minister Andrew Little says there could be up to 50 people sitting in New Zealand prisons who didn't commit the crime they're in prison for.
One of the Māori members of the commission is sociology and criminology academic Professor Tracey McIntosh.
“The interests of justice are never served. The interest of people who have been harmed and who are victims of crimes are not served if there has been a wrongful conviction.”
McIntosh says miseducation, cost and accessibility have previously posed barriers for Māori wanting to get convictions overturned.
McIntosh says the new application process will be simple, free of cost and will not require a lawyer.
“So someone who believes they have had a wrongful conviction can make an application directly to the commission.”
McIntosh says previously the justice system wasn’t serving the people.
“There was an incredible level of mamae and of grief over what the criminal justice produces, and that would be for both people that have harmed and people that have been harmed, she says.
“So I see this as an important element within a broader system of creating greater level of accountability, greater level of transparency and serving the interest of justice and by doing that serving the interest of Māori.”
McIntosh says the commission was formed through a coalition agreement between the Labour Party and New Zealand First.
“The operation is relatively simple, and definitely far simpler than what we’ve had previously, she says.
“The realer issues with it is that it’s independent, so it’s independent of the courts, it’s independent of the corrections, it’s independent of the police, so it’s an independent crown entity.”
However, McIntosh says the new commission will not suffice on its own and will require a much broader platform within the system.