Laurence Greig Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Laurie Greig
Office:Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Term Start:1996
Term End:2004
Predecessor:None (office established)
Successor:Paul Neazor
Order3:4th
Office3:Chief Justice of the Cook Islands
Term Start3:2000
Term End3:2005
Predecessor3:Peter Quilliam
Successor3:David Williams
Office4:Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands
Primeminister4:Sir Terepai Maoate
Term Start4:14 November 2000
Term End4:9 February 2001
Predecessor4:Sir Apenera Pera Short
Successor4:Sir Frederick Tutu Goodwin
Birth Date:24 February 1929

Laurence Murray Greig (born 24 February 1929)[1] is a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as Chief Justice of the Cook Islands, a judge of the High Court of New Zealand, and as Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.

Greig was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at George Watson's College.[1] He moved to Dunedin, New Zealand with his family as a teenager in 1946.[1] [2] He studied law at the University of Otago, then worked for Crown solicitors for five years before joining Bell Gully as a commercial lawyer.[2] He was appointed as a judge of the High Court of New Zealand in 1979.[2] He retired from the bench in May 1996.[2]

Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security

Greig was appointed the inaugural Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security upon retiring from the High Court in 1996.[3] He was appointed for a further three-year term in 1999,[4] and again in 2003.[5] As Inspector-General, Greig investigated the actions of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service in burgling the home of anti-free-trade activist Aziz Choudry and found them to be "lawful, reasonable and justified".[6] In 2003, while he was responsible for reviewing the security risk certificate against Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui he gave an interview to the New Zealand Listener in which he said that if it were up to him, Zaoui would be "outski" on the next plane and that "we don't want lots of people coming in on false passports thrown down the loo on the plane, saying, 'I'm a refugee, keep me here'."[7] In March 2004 he resigned[8] after the High Court found that he had displayed apparent bias and disqualified him from the Zaoui case.[9] He was replaced as Inspector-General by Paul Neazor.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Book: New Zealand Who's who Aotearoa . Alister Taylor Publishers & New Zealand Who's Who Publications . 2001 . 392.
  2. News: Time to move on from a life in law . Dominion-Post . Wendy Murdoch . 4 May 1996 . EBSCOHost.
  3. News: The man to keep an eye on our spies . Sunday Star-Times . Anthony Hubbard . 1 December 1996 . C5 . EBSCOHost.
  4. Web site: APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONER OF SECURITY WARRANTS . New Zealand Government . 9 September 1999 . 1 July 2020.
  5. Web site: Sir John Jeffries & Hon Laurence Greig reappointed . Scoop . 11 March 2003 . 12 February 2021.
  6. Web site: Government Spy Agency Watchdog "complete waste of time and taxpayers' money" : Complainants call for abolition or radical overhaul . David Small and Aziz Choudry . Peace Movement Aotearoa . 13 June 2000 . 1 July 2020.
  7. Web site: Gordon Campbell. 28 November 2003. Watching the watchers. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20200421034632if_/https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/archive-listener-nz-2003/watching-the-watchers. 21 April 2020. New Zealand Listener. 1 July 2020.
  8. Web site: Inspector-Gen. of Intelligence & Security resigns . Scoop . 31 March 2004 . 1 July 2020.
  9. Web site: High Court Finds Greig Bias Against Zaoui Case . Selwyn Manning . Scoop . 31 March 2004 . 1 July 2020.
  10. Web site: Justice Neazor appointed Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security . New Zealand Government . 27 April 2004 . 1 July 2020.