F.07 Request access to facilities to assist in litigation

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Criteria for access to facilities to assist in litigation

A self-represented litigant (also known as self-represented defendant) is a prisoner who chooses to represent themselves in court without the assistance of a lawyer. Below is a list of scenarios that a prisoner will need facilities to assist in litigation:

  1. Pursuant to [regulation 193 of the Corrections Regulations 2005] reasonable access to facilities to assist with the following litigation must be provided so far as is reasonably practicable, and consistent with the maintenance of safety and security requirements, to any prisoner who:
    1. is appealing or applying for leave to appeal against any criminal conviction, order, or sentence, or
    2. is an accused prisoner who is preparing his or her defence or plea in mitigation, or
    3. is detained under the [Immigration Act 1987] and is preparing for any process or proceeding under that Act.
  2. There may be other situations where a self-represented litigant needs access to computer facilities, although these are not covered in [regulation 193 of the Corrections Regulation 2005], prisons should give reasonable access where practicable to facilities for other types of matters, including:
    1. a prisoner filing or preparing for a judicial review, or
    2. other civil proceedings, for example in the High Court for breaches of rights under the [New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990] or in the Human Rights Review Tribunal for breaches of the [Privacy Act 2020].

    3. Note: The above is a non-exhaustive list of situations where a prisoner may need access to facilities. The Courts of New Zealand general expect Corrections to provide access to facilities where practicable. If there are any situations staff are not sure about, see [Getting assistance from Legal].

  3. Reasonable access to facilities to assist with any other litigation may be provided to any prisoner at the discretion of the general manager custodial. Access to facilities may be available before the commencement of litigation, where the prisoner is contemplating filing proceedings in the near future.
  4. Access to facilities is available only until the end of the hearing of the proceeding. If access to facilities is required in relation to an appeal after judgment is delivered, a further application may be made.
  5. Prison sites must take all reasonable steps to ensure self-represented litigants are able to send and receive urgent legal correspondence via email. An example of urgency might be when the prisoner has a court date, filing date or service deadline with 5 working days. For non-urgent matters, the postal or courier system is encouraged to be used, however the prison site may decide at their discretion how this correspondence should be sent based on their operational requirements.
  6. Each prison site has nominated a specific contact person for this legal correspondence to be sent and received by. The prisoner must complete [F.07.Form.02 Self-represented litigant consent to email legal correspondence] before any legal correspondence will be sent by the prison site to the lawyers acting for the Crown, or the court where the case for litigation has been (or is to be) filed. Only 1 form is required to be completed by the prisoner per proceeding, referencing each Court Reference Number (CRN).
  7. Further information is available for staff regarding self-represented litigants in [F.07.Res.02 Information for staff on self-represented litigants].
    collaborationAny legal correspondence provided by a Crown lawyer, Crown Law, a Crown Solicitor firm or an independent barrister who is representing the Crown is not subject to legal privilege as it is not coming from the prisoner’s own lawyer.

F.07.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation

  1. The prisoner must make a request for facilities to assist in litigation by seeking an interview with the unit PCO.
  2. At the meeting with the PCO, the prisoner must complete [Section A of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation].
  3. The unit PCO must make a copy of the completed application and provide this to the prisoner.
  4. Prisoner’s File Notes are updated that a prisoner has requested such facilities.
  5. The unit PCO must then provide the original completed application to the residential manager regarding court confirmation of litigation.

F.07.02 Confirmation of proceedings

F.07.02.01 Commence Proceedings

  1. For applications relating to proposed litigation, the prisoner must specify (in [Section A of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation, under 'Commence proceedings']) a time period for when the proceedings are intended to be filed.
  2. The residential manager is to schedule follow up review(s) with the Court / prisoner, to be completed regarding proposed litigation. Follow up review time frame intervals can be determined by the residential manager and is to be noted in [Section C of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation], and the form forwarded to the general manager custodial for consideration.
  3. The residential manager must undertake follow up reviews with the Court / prisoner at the noted time frame intervals to confirm proceedings have been filed. If the proceedings have not been filed, a further follow up review date is to be set and forwarded to the general manager custodial for consideration. Access to facilities may be withdrawn unless the general manager custodial has agreed that access continues for a further period(s).

F.07.02.02 Current Proceedings

  1. For current proceedings (as identified in [section A of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation, under 'Current Court Proceeding']), the residential manager must contact the Court to confirm that:
    1. the prisoner is party to the litigation
    2. the hearing of the litigation is not completed.
  2. The residential manager then completes [section B Confirmation of proceeding of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation], and forwards to the general manager custodial for consideration.

F.07.03 General manager custodial considerations for access to facilities

  1. Upon receipt of [F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation], and before determining the application, the general manager custodial must consider the following:
    1. the maintenance of public safety
    2. the fair, safe, secure, orderly and humane management and care of prisoners
    3. the maintenance of security and good order within the prison
    4. the extent to which the prison can reasonably provide such facilities to prisoners within existing resources
    5. the impact on other prisoners’ access to facilities and the fair use of facilities by other prisoners
    6. the impact on the good management of the prisoner, and
    7. in relation to the proceedings listed in Criteria for access to facilities to assist in litigation, the obligation under [regulation 193 of the Corrections Regulations 2005] to ensure that the prisoner is provided with access to adequate facilities as far as is reasonably practicable in the circumstances, and consistent with the maintenance of safety and security requirements.
  2. The general manager custodial must also consider the following if the prisoner has requested access to a computer:
    1. resources (including hardware, software, support and supervising staff) currently available within the unit and the prison
    2. the availability and cost of accessing specialist resources to monitor the use of the computer
    3. whether there is a demonstrated need to access computer facilities, for example arising from the likely volume of documentation involved, a requirement for data manipulation, or a personal characteristic of the prisoner
    4. whether the demonstrated need could be met by other means
    5. the willingness of the prisoner to accept and comply with
      1. time limitations
      2. use restrictions, and
      3. searches of the computer and related items for inappropriate material or other misuse
    6. any previous non-compliance of the prisoner with such conditions
    7. any history or concerns about the prisoner in respect of electronic communication equipment or other unauthorised items
    8. any security issues or other concerns relating to the prisoner
    9. any security issues or concerns relating to the use of a computer in the unit / prison
    10. the type of offences committed by the prisoner and the prisoner’s previous conduct (e.g. offences relating to fraud, or possession of objectionable material, concerns about witness intimidation etc.).
  3. The Prisoner Digital Service (PDS) suite allows access by default to the New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII.org) and the Kōnae website (konae.org.nz). The Kōnae website has been developed in response to the inquiry into the abuse in state care to allow victims to search for records relating to the inquiry.
  4. The general manager custodial must also consider the following if the prisoner has requested access to other legal research material, such as copies of legislation, case law or textbooks:
    1. the ability of the prisoner to access that material by other means (for example, through a lawyer)
    2. whether the requested material is available within the prison and, if not, the likely cost of obtaining that material
    3. whether the prisoner agrees to and does meet the cost of obtaining the material
    4. the resources required in terms of staff time to access the requested material
Watch Point

General manager custodial should refer to this section’s guidance every time they are required to consider an application requesting access to facilities to assist in litigation.

F.07.04 General manager custodial declines request

  1. The general manager custodial records on the application his or her reasons for declining the request for all or some of the facilities in relation to litigation.
  2. The general manager custodial forwards the application to the unit PCO, who informs the prisoner that their application for access to facilities to assist in litigation service has been declined.
  3. The prisoner must be informed they can have this decision reviewed through the prisoner complaints process, or by contacting the Inspector and/or the Ombudsman.
  4. The prisoner must be given a copy of the completed application ([F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation]), and the original completed application is to be placed on the prisoner’s file.
  5. PCO ensures that the prisoner’s File Notes are updated, and the declined copy of [F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation] is uploaded to the prisoner’s IOMS documents.

F.07.05 General manager custodial approves request

  1. The general manager custodial must complete [section C of F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation], providing reasons for approving the use of facilities, and setting the conditions for their use, e.g. type, number, frequency, and duration of the approved facilities to be provided.
  2. If the general manager custodial has approved the use of a computer, the general manager custodial must also complete:
    1. [Section D – Conditions of approved access and prisoner agreement of the application].
  3. Before access to facilities to assist in litigation is provided, the prisoner must sign [sections C and D] (if applicable), confirming that they accept and will abide by the conditions set out in these sections.
  4. The prisoner must be given a copy of the completed application ([F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation]), and the original completed application is to be placed on the prisoner’s file.
  5. PCO ensures that the prisoner’s File Notes is updated, and the approved copy of [F.07.Form.01 Application for access to facilities to assist in litigation] is uploaded to the prisoner’s IOMS documents.

F.07.06 Prisoner may access a disclosure device for the purposes of their court case

  1. A prisoner’s criminal disclosure may need to be provided digitally and, in these cases, a disclosure laptop may be requested. The general manager custodial must approve the request before access is granted.
  2. Prisoners must request access for a laptop by completing [F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device].
  3. The general manager custodial must consider the request promptly.
  4. The general manager custodial may contact the prisoner’s lawyer or the Police for confirmation of how large the disclosure is, and if it is necessary to be provided digitally.
  5. The general manager custodial must take into account the considerations in POM [F.07.03 General manager custodial considerations for access to facilities].

F.07.07 General manager custodial declines request

  1. The general manager custodial must record on the application form their reasons for declining the request for the prisoner to have access to a disclosure device.
  2. The general manager custodial forwards the application to the unit PCO, who informs the prisoner that their application for access to a disclosure device has been declined. The PCO must give the prisoner a copy of the completed application ([F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device]), and the original completed application must be placed on the prisoner’s file.
  3. The prisoner has the right to have the decision reviewed by following the prisoner complaints process [PC.01 Prisoner complaints], or by contacting the Inspector and/or the Ombudsman. This information is located on [F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device].
  4. PCO must ensure that the prisoner’s File Notes are updated.

F.07.08 General manager custodial approves request

  1. The general manager custodial must complete Section B of [F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device], providing reasons for approving the use of the device, and setting the conditions for their use, (e.g. location, frequency, and duration of the approved device to be provided).
  2. The general manager custodial must complete [Section C – Conditions of approved access and prisoner agreement of the application].
  3. Before access to the disclosure device is provided, the prisoner must sign [F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device] confirming that they accept and will abide by the conditions set out in sections [Sections C and D].
  4. The PCO must give the prisoner a copy of the completed application ([F.07.Form.03 Application for prisoner to use disclosure device]), and the original completed application must be placed on the prisoner’s file.
  5. PCO must ensure that the prisoner’s File Notes are updated.
  6. For next steps on ordering the disclosure device, please see [F.07.Res.03 Information for staff on Department provided disclosure devices]).

F.07.09 Misuse of disclosure device

  1. If the general manager custodial, PCO or other staff suspect that the prisoner has been using the disclosure device for unauthorized purposes or is in breach of the conditions set out in approved [F.07.Form.03 Application for access to a disclosure device], the laptop may be sent back to National Office for forensic examination.
  2. Remove the device and place it in an evidence bag.
  3. Contact IT security for further guidance – email IT_security@corrections.govt.nz.
  4. If it is confirmed by IT Security that the prisoner has been using the laptop for unauthorized purposes, an incident report must be generated, and a misconduct charge may be laid against the prisoner pursuant to Section 128 of the Corrections Act 2004, depending on the circumstances.
    1. IT Security may provide a report on the device that can be used as evidence for misconduct proceedings.