16th July 2025 – Webinar: Overcrowded and Understaffed – Remand in Aotearoa

We’re very pleased to announce that Emily McKechnie, winner of the 2024 NZCCL VUW Law Essay Prize has agreed to present her essay to us as a webinar.

We thought her essay, Overcrowded and Understaffed: How Aotearoa’s international human rights obligations are struggling to prevent ill-treatment of the growing remand population, was an interesting and enlightening comparison between the ideal of how we should treat remand prisoners and the reality.

Emily’s well-researched essay clearly lays out how remand works and is monitored in New Zealand, then shows how international treaties and monitoring aren’t enough when there isn’t the resources or will to improve the problems found. Protecting our civil liberties is about more than just policy. – Thomas Beagle, Chair

Webinar details

Date: Wednesday 16th July

Time: Noon – 1pm

Emily will talk about her work and there will be time for questions at the end. 

Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vD2O7HoNSyGAKfhrD6uUKQ

Privacy: The Zoom registration process asks for your name and email address. We will only use this data for organising the webinar and will delete the information afterwards.

Essay abstract

“Aotearoa has implemented an internationally renowned framework of monitoring bodies who inspect places of detention to prevent ill-treatment of those deprived of their liberty. These protections extend to prisoners on custodial remand. However, as numbers of remandees in New Zealand continue to rise, the conditions of remand detention deteriorate.”

“This paper sets out Aotearoa’s monitoring framework. It explains that while these monitoring mechanisms are undeniably beneficial and New Zealand has made a strong commitment to their implementation, the growing remand population presents unique challenges. By examining the inspected conditions of remand detention, this paper will explore how Aotearoa is currently failing to prevent ill-treatment of remandees. By implementing a holistic approach to these challenges, New Zealand can improve conditions of remand detention, prevent ill-treatment and protect the human rights of some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”