In a legal first in Aotearoa, the Supreme Court has posthumously overturned Peter Ellis' sex abuse convictions, 30 years after he was arrested.
Ellis died in 2019, just months after his final leave for appeal was granted. Usually, his death would have meant the end of the appeal but the Supreme Court allowed his appeal to continue after his lawyers argued tikanga was part of common law. Natalie Coates, who represented Ellis, told the court at the time that in accordance with tikanga, all people had mana, and mana transcended death.
In a majority decision, the Supreme Court allowed his appeal to continue, which concluded with Friday's decision. In its decision, the Supreme Court judges said it ended "a long and painful journey" for many people involved in the case.
"With the benefit of hindsight, the court considered that the special care and attention required for a case of such unprecedented complexity was underestimated at the time of the investigation and trial and this resulted in a miscarriage of justice."
Ellis had been convicted in 1993 on 16 counts of sexual abuse against children while in his care at a creche at the Christchurch Civic Centre. He spent seven years in jail but fought for his innocence until his death of bladder cancer.
Tikanga Māori recognised in court.
'Case by case incorporation'
In addition to releasing its decision to quash Ellis' convictions, the Supreme Court also released its reasons for allowing the appeal to continue after his death.
The court was unanimous that tikanga "has been and will continue" to be recognised in the development of the common law of Aotearoa/New Zealand in cases where it is relevant and it also forms part of New Zealand law as a result of being incorporated into statutes and regulations.
However, two of the judges, Mark O'Regan and Terence Arnold did not consider Ellis' case to be suitable for the court to make a decision on the place of tikanga in the law of Aotearoa. The remaining judges, Chief Justice Helen WInkelmann, Susan Glazebrook and Joe WIlliams wrote that the "colonial tests for incorporation of tikanga in the common law should no longer apply" and it would eventually evolve on a case-by-case basis.
"The majority judges accept that tikanga was the first law of Aotearoa/New Zealand and that it continues to shape and regulate the lives of Māori. In light of this, the courts must not exceed their function when engaging with tikanga. Care must be taken not to impair the operation of tikanga as a system of law and custom in its own right."
