Submission: Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill
ELI has submitted on the Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill.
Our submission addresses the following issues:
Improper influence by parties to civil proceedings.
Retrospectivity and targeting of specific litigant.
Inadequate rationale for the legislation.
Access to justice.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi.
ELI submits that the Bill should not proceed.
The Bill is an extraordinary and unjustified intervention in live proceedings, and lacks any substantive rationale beyond shielding specific defendants to a civil claim. It undermines access to justice and public confidence in the rule of law.
Parliament remains free to strengthen the regulatory response to climate pollution while allowing the Smith v Fonterra case to continue, and following the ordinary norms of good law-making.