Report of the Juvenile Delinquency Committee — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Report of the Juvenile Delinquency Committee
John Stuart Mill · en
"The present state of affairs might be dangerous if prosecutions
could be taken on the decision of police officials in any town in
New Zealand. Whatever may be said in theory, however, the fact that
prosecutions can be brought only with the leave of the
Attorney-General is, we think, a sufficient guarantee that the law
will be applied uniformly and reasonably. Moreover, there is a
further safeguard in the right of appeal to the Supreme Court
against all decisions of a Magistrate under the Act.
"We believe that the bookselling trade is quite happy with the
present substantive law as it is now being administered, and we
firmly hold the opinion that the best course is to leave the
substantive provisions of the 1954 Act largely as they are.
"(2) The registration provisions are a rather complex way of
achieving their object, which is to enable the Court to put a
seller out of business if he is convicted of an offence against the
Act and if the Court believes his conduct is such as to warrant
this penalty. We think that this object could be achieved by giving
the Court this power directly. It could be provided that on
convicting any one under the Act the Court may make an order
prohibiting him for a certain period from carrying on the business
of selling books or periodicals. The provisions as to registration
could then be repealed."
Some members of the present Committee felt that this power should be
exercised only in the case of a second or subsequent conviction.
"(3) The marking requirements of the Act are not well adapted to
their object, and, as we have mentioned, it has proved necessary to
a large extent to dispense with compliance with them. We think it
is anomalous that the law should continue to require marking while
almost every publication is exempted.
"In place of the present marking provisions we suggest that every
New Zealand publisher should continue to be required to print his
name and address on what he publishes, that the importer of
overseas periodicals for sale or distribution be required to supply
to the Department of Justice a list of the titles imported by him,
and that every one other than a retail bookseller who carries on
the business of importing books be required to supply to that
Department a list of the publishers whose books he imports.