For the foregoing reasons we think that if the applicants make out their
claim that the findings of the Erebus Commission in paragraph 377 are
outside the commissioner's terms of reference, they could be granted a
declaration to that effect at common law. To obtain a setting aside of
the findings under s. 4 (2) of the Judicature Amendment Act 1977 they
have to show in addition that the findings were made in the exercise of
a statutory power of decision. We think this requirement should not
present final difficulty if regard is had to the evident intent and
spirit of the 1972 Act and particularly the amendments made by
Parliament in 1977.


Judicature Amendment Act 1972

Was the statutory power one of _decision_? The 1977 Amendment Act
brought statutory investigations or inquiries into rights or liabilities
within the definition of "statutory power". An inquiry into whether any
person caused or contributed to the crash by an act or omission in
respect of his duties is an inquiry into liabilities. But that is less
important for present purposes than the fact that the Amendment Act also
extended the concept of statutory powers of decision to those
"affecting" the rights of any person. The purpose was manifestly to make
the ambit of review under the Act at least as wide as at common law.
This point is dealt with in _Daemar_ v. _Gilliand_ (1981) 1 N.Z.L.R. 61.

We think it would be very difficult to justify an argument that findings
likely to affect individuals in their personal civil rights or to expose
them to prosecution under the criminal law are decision "affecting"
their rights within the meaning of the Act. In the present case, for