WELLINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government will remove the "year and a day" rule in the Crimes Act to ensure it no longer prevents those who break the law from being held accountable no matter the length of time, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
The "year and a day" provision was referenced as one of the factors taken into account in the decision not to prosecute anyone over the Christchurch's Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapse in the February 22, 2011 earthquake. In that instance the building design occurred many years earlier, in fact, in 1986.
Last November, the police announced that no-one will be held criminally liable for the collapse of the CTV building, when 115 people died from the building collapse.
"I made an undertaking to the families of the CTV building collapse when I met them that changes needed to be made so that those whose actions lead to tragedies, can still be prosecuted no matter what length of time has elapsed," Ardern said in a statement.
The "year and a day" rule prevents people from being prosecuted for causing the death of a person who dies after 366 days.
"I know this won't help those families, but this law change will help ensure that those who face similarly tragic circumstances will not be prevented from seeing justice done," she said.
This provision has already been abolished in most like-minded jurisdictions including Britain through the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996, Ireland, Canada and most Australian states, Ardern said.
"This is the right thing to do so those who do break the law in these circumstances can no longer escape prosecution," she added.
