The Law Commission has questioned whether the Government or the courts should have ultimate control over information before the courts that could prejudice New Zealand security.
The National Security Information in Proceedings paper is released today and, in it, the option of new legislation is canvassed.
It said there would be situations in court where the withholding of information would be justified on grounds of national security.
It said such information could relate to defence operations or economic interests related to international trade.
Law Commission president, Sir Grant Hammond, said the question is whether the Government or the courts should have the ultimate power to prevent disclosure.
He said there was also the question of how national security information was defined.
