Regulatory Work


REGULATORY WORK

Although Ian is first and foremost a criminal law expert, he does other work, too. 


Over the years, Ian has also acted in a number of regulatory prosecution cases – in some case, all the way to the Court of Appeal. 


Regulatory cases are cases where Government Departments or entities (such as the Commerce Commission or the Ministry of Social Development) bring charges against individuals. They are often “strict liability” offences and will, if proven or accepted, result in convictions going onto a person’s record. Significant fines may also be involved, particularly where the defendant is a corporate entity. 


Ian has acted as counsel in a wide range of regulatory prosecution cases, including cases brought by the Commerce Commission, WorkSafe NZ, The Companies Office Enforcement Unit, ACC, Medsafe, the Commissioner of Police and local Councils. 


Ian has worked on cases involving: Fair Trading, Price fixing, the Medicines Act, Health and Safety – including cases involving fatalities, fraud cases involving beneficiaries or bankrupts, and civil forfeiture proceedings. 

Ian currently prosecutes cases for WorkSafe New Zealand and has recently acted for the Commerce Commission in the Fair Trading Act prosecution of a very large retail hardware trader. 


In April 2018, Ian prosecuted the first trial under the new Health and Safety at Work Act 2016. Ian is also currently prosecuting two high profile health and safety cases against the New Zealand Police. 


Ian has also recently defended multiple defendants in a prosecution brought by the Ministry of Primary Industries in relation to raw milk. 


The bottom line is that these cases are run in the criminal courts and are subject to rules of criminal evidence and procedure. They also often go to trial, and Ian’s core experience lies in examining witnesses and advancing his client’s interests in the courtroom – be it before a Jury or before a Judge. For that reason, criminal law experts such as Ian are well placed to deal with these types of regulatory cases. 


So, if you are facing issues of a regulatory nature, no matter what it is, contact Ian’s team now.

Share by: