LegalResearchFoundation

The arguments in favour of legalising voluntary euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide initially appear convincing. We should, it is said, respect people's autonomy, euthanasia is a compassionate response to unbearable suffering, it has (supposedly) worked well in those nations that have implemented it, and so on. But on closer analysis the arguments are far less persuasive. Such a new law is unnecessary given the current legal ability of all but the most incapacitated to take their own life and the availability of palliative care. Any euthanasia law — even one carefully drafted with requisite safeguards — is susceptible to noncompliance and vulnerable to abuse. Moreover, any law would face the ineradicable reality of self-imposed pressure the vulnerable experience to "do the right thing". This article sets out ten reasons why euthanasia should not be legalised and contends that the case for decriminalising it has not been made out.

This article considers the rationale of a "right to be forgotten", the implications of Google Spain SL v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) and the need for a similar right in New Zealand's information society. It argues that privacy law in New Zealand does not adequately protect the interests of individuals in controlling information created about them online and, in its current form, is ill-equipped to deal with the changing nature of that information over time.

Reasonable access to land is fundamental to any property owner. If such access does not exist, there are statutory provisions in the Property Law Act 2007 that enable an owner to ask a court for relief. This article investigates the first threshold in any landlocked land application — is the current access unreasonable? The article examines the various principles distilled by the judiciary from previous case law and argues that in some judgments the collation is fragmentary. The evolving nature of landlocked land jurisprudence demands careful scrutiny of what comprises existing practical physical access in today's environment. The article advocates four fundamental principles designed to help litigants and the judiciary understand the important facets of the "reasonable access" definition in s 326 of the Property Law Act 2007.