How to Claim
How to make a claim to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
Different rules apply with respect to who can bring a claim to the Human Rights Review Tribunal, depending on which act applies.
It is important that you check whether the relevant act empowers the Tribunal to deal with the claim you wish to bring. If in doubt, get legal advice.
Statement of Claim form
The first step is to complete a Statement of Claim form. You'll need to know whether your claim will be brought under the Human Rights Act, the Privacy Act or the Health and Disability Commissioner Act, as there are different claim forms for each.
Your Statement of Claim must include:
- Your full name, postal address, and your occupation.
- The full name, address and occupation of the person or the organisation you're complaining about.
- The specific provision(s) of the legislation that you say has been breached by the defendant.
- A brief statement to describe what has happened, and why you think the defendant has breached the Act your claim relates to. This should cover:
- who was involved
- what happened and where - or what should have happened and didn't
- what action, aside from the claim in the Tribunal, has been taken so far
- what the defendant has said or done, or not said or done, about your complaint.
- A summary of what harm or damage you have suffered or expect to suffer in future. This part of your claim must give details of:
- the identity of the person/people involved
- the relevant events, dates and times
- any other information necessary to allow the person the claim is being brought against, and the Tribunal, to understand what your claim is about.
- Explain the remedies you want the Tribunal to order if your claim is successful. For example, a declaration that there has been a breach of the Act, an order restraining the defendant from repeating the behaviour in question, damages, and any other relief that you consider to be warranted.
- If your claim has been investigated by the Privacy Commissioner or the Health and Disability Commissioner, you should attach to your Statement of Claim a copy of the Certificate of Investigation issued by the Privacy Commissioner or, in the case of a matter investigated by the Health and Disability Commissioner, a copy of the final opinion recording the outcome of the Commissioner's investigation.
- You must sign and date the Statement of Claim. Unless there is a good reason not to do so, you must also give your phone number, email address and fax number.
- If there is only one defendant, you should file an original plus three copies of your Statement of Claim, and the required attachments. If there is more than one person, you must file an extra copy for each additional defendant.
Once your claim has been filed
In most cases, the Secretary of the Tribunal will send new statements of claim to the defendant or defendants, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or the Health and Disability Commissioner, depending on which has been involved.
In all cases brought against a government agency under the Human Rights Act, where the plaintiff is not the Director of Human Rights Proceedings, the Statement of Claim will be sent to the chairperson of the Tribunal. The chair will decide if the Attorney General is entitled to be notified of the claim.
If there is any doubt as to whether or not the claim is a valid claim under the relevant legislation, that question will likely be dealt with at the outset. If, after receiving any arguments on the issue, the Tribunal decides there is no case for the proposed defendant(s) to answer, it will issue a written decision either dismissing or striking out the claim
