Prison informant or ‘jailhouse snitch’ evidence is a notoriously unreliable category of evidence. In light of reliability concerns, the New Zealand Supreme Court has adopted a progressive approach to the exclusion of prison informant evidence, centred on greater use of general exclusionary provisions as a threshold of reliability for the admission of suspect evidence. In so doing, the court has shifted the emphasis from deference to the jury as arbiter of ultimate reliability and towards more robust judicial gatekeeping as a safeguard against false testimony. This article critically analyses the New Zealand approach, including by way of comparison with Canada, Australia and England and Wales. The New Zealand approach is presented as a principled and important example of adapting fundamental evidentiary principles and provisions in line with emerging social science evidence. However, in light of the general concerns surrounding this class of evidence, ultimately further safeguards are still needed

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The term ‘dignity’ is used in a variety of legislative contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand, to express different ideas and perform different functions. It is also sometimes deployed alongside the Mäori concept of mana, suggesting a degree of legal association between these two discrete concepts. In this article we review the use of dignity in New Zealand case law and legislation, and critique the association being drawn between mana and dignity in our legal system. We also raise the possibility of a richer, locally legitimate conception of dignity to develop in Aotearoan law, one that draws on values and ideals from tikanga Māori – including but not limited to mana.

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