Recent Developments

Excerpt

The Supreme Court of New Zealand recently examined issues of standards of proof and abuse of process in Z v Dental Complaints Assessment Committee [2008] NZSC 55 (25 July 2008). The case concerned a dentist who had been acquitted of four charges of indecently assaulting three patients between 1987 and 2001, during dental treatments. The victims, unhappy at the acquittal, referred the matters to the Dentist Council of New Zealand. Another patient, whose complaint did not form a part of the criminal proceedings, brought a further complaint, which was joined with the others. The Council, after forming a complaint assessment committee which advised that the Council should investigate the matters, decided that it would investigate the complaints even though the dentist had been acquitted in the criminal proceedings. …