DOIA-REQ-0030828-Tracy /CRM:0231806 Official information request regarding prosecution decisions and evidential sufficiency

Crown Law has responded to an Official Information Act request regarding how prosecution decisions are made in New Zealand. The response confirms that prosecutions are generally carried out by Crown Solicitors, Police, or other prosecuting agencies, rather than Crown Law itself. Prosecutors are required to apply the Solicitor-General’s “Test for Prosecution,” which includes both an evidential test and a public interest test before charges are filed or continued. Crown Law states that these prosecution guidelines are already publicly available and form the main framework used to assess evidential sufficiency, intent, proportionality, and whether prosecutions should proceed or be discontinued.

The reply also confirms that Crown Law does not routinely audit or supervise individual prosecution decisions, and much of the detailed review or oversight material is either not held by Crown Law, considered legally privileged, or falls outside the scope of the Official Information Act due to the Solicitor-General’s Law Officer functions. However, Crown Law acknowledged that a new “Crown Solicitor File Review Pilot” has recently been launched to assess practice standards and oversight across the Crown Solicitor network. The response further notes that prosecuting agencies are expected to maintain their own publicly available prosecution policies and that court decisions relating to procedural fairness and evidential standards can be searched through Judicial Decisions Online.