Since time immemorial, people have been trying to trick, con and scam other people. Fraud is not a modern phenomenon. But modern fraudsters are an order of magnitude more technologically sophisticated, and are costing people and businesses billions of dollars globally. This article deals with a particular type of fraud: authorised push payment. Authorised push payment fraud happens when a victim is tricked into transferring money from their own account into that of a fraudster. It is uniquely challenging because, to their bank, the victim appears to have requested and approved the fraudulent transaction. In Philipp v Barclays Bank, the United Kingdom Supreme Court held that, unless a bank has actual knowledge of fraud, its common law duty is simply to execute its customers' instructions. Failure to do so will leave the bank prima facie liable for breach of mandate. By contrast, the New Zealand Banking Ombudsman Scheme requires banks, when on notice of "a real possibility that a customer is being scammed", to "make inquiries or warn the customer". I argue that these two approaches are irreconcilable, and this irreconcilability—combined with uncertainty as to when a bank will be "on notice"—creates confusion for both banks and their customers. Accordingly, I suggest Parliament should intervene by enacting new legislation that (i) requires banks to reimburse most authorised push payment fraud victims, and (ii) prevents banks from being liable at common law for taking reasonable fraud prevention steps.
This article seeks to show that understanding the accident compensation scheme as a social contract does not inherently justify universal cover as the Supreme Court claims in Roper v Taylor. This article uses the facts of Roper v Taylor to explore two approaches to understanding the accident compensation scheme. The first relies on community responsibility to achieve comprehensive entitlement. The second relies on the social contract to establish entitlement in exchange for the right to sue. This article argues that the social contract does not inherently justify universal cover because coverage depends on which injuries Parliament has included within the scheme, rather than an overarching principle of community responsibility. Consequently, the Court's assertion of a principle of universal cover does not establish which injuries Parliament has in fact included within the social contract. To conclude, this article suggests that a principle of community responsibility could operate in a limited capacity to overrule textual interpretations where Parliament clearly intended a particular type of injury to fall within the social contract.
This article examines how women and mothers are impacted by Aotearoa New Zealand's bail system. It begins by identifying a shift towards a harsher bail culture, both in New Zealand and across Western jurisdiction. This shift is primarily characterised by an increased focus on public safety and has underscored a more risk-averse approach to bail decision-making. Stricter bail policies have led to a significant increase in the number of women held on custodial remand.This article argues the public safety rationale of harsher bail policies does not map well onto women. It examines how women and mothers face layered disadvantages, both in their access to bail and while on custodial remand. It identifies how socially marginalised women are disproportionately affected by harsher bail policies and are at risk of being remanded in custody without a strong justification. It examines a further layer of disadvantage faced by mothers with dependent children. It suggests that during the pre-trial process, the impacts of incarceration on primary carers and their children often fail to be considered and supported. It argues that mothers on custodial remand face additional and disproportionate harm. This article joins a growing body of research critiquing the rate at which women are remanded in custody and concludes by suggesting initial steps to address the problem.
On 10 November 2023, Australia and Tuvalu announced the Falepili Union, a bilateral treaty which seeks to establish a climate-related special human mobility pathway, a security guarantee and recognition of Tuvalu's continuing sovereignty—even if it loses its land to climate-induced sea-level rise. The signing of the Union generated significant media attention, with commentators heralding the agreement as "groundbreaking", "innovative" and a "world first".This article contends that the Union is not as novel as this media reporting suggests. Exploring the origins of this treaty, this article contextualises the Union within a sequence of legislative, policy and constitutional developments in Tuvalu and the Pacific more generally. It demonstrates that in negotiating the Union, Tuvalu has advanced several of its longstanding foreign policy, climate and security-related goals. In doing so, this article challenges the dominant discourse surrounding the Union which has emphasised the role of Australia and its interests in shaping the Union—an emphasis which has largely ignored Tuvalu's agency in the creation of the Union.
Advancements in artificial intelligence technologies have led to the perpetration of sexual violence in novel ways. Non-consensual intimate deepfakes (NCIDs) are a pernicious and pervasive form of sexual violence involving the creation, distribution or threatened distribution of digitally manipulated intimate images without consent. The law must be updated to effectively tackle harmful behaviours as they arise. This article aims to identify the most appropriate and effective way for New Zealand lawmakers to address the growing problem of NCIDs, in light of their significant individual and social harms. First, a positive case for criminalisation is made out through an examination of the individual and collective harms caused by NCIDs. Secondly, an analysis of the different available regulatory mechanisms establishes a negative case in support of criminalisation. Finally, this article offers specific recommendations for enacting distinct criminal provisions targeting NCIDs, as part of a broader integrated approach that is both proactive and reactive to the emerging NCID phenomenon.
