Rights and research: an examination of research under New Zealand's Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights.

New Zealand's Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers'Rights came into force in 1996 after Judge Silva Cartwright's Cervical Cancer Inquiry concluded that a research study into the course of cervical cancer had taken place at National Women's Hospital without the participants' knowledge or consent. The Code creates rights in respect of the provision of health and disability services which explicitly extend to research. However, in the absence of a statutory definition of "research", its meaning and the application of the Code to research in New Zealand are unclear. This article seeks to identify the gaps and find a solution.