Scott Watson pictured in the High Court in Christchurch during the judicial review of a Department of Corrections decision to refuse him a behind-bars meeting with a journalist.

The public has heard only four words from convicted double murderer Scott Watson since he was arrested – "not guilty" and "you're wrong" – a court has heard.

Watson is in the High Court in Christchurch seeking a judicial review of a Department of Corrections decision to refuse him a behind-bars meeting with a journalist.

After a prolonged legal argument, Justice Rachel Dunningham reserved her decision before Watson headed quietly and without emotion for the holding cells.

John Kirk-Anderson Scott Watson and his lawyer Kerry Cook in the High Court in Christchurch.

Watson is serving a life sentence after being convicted of the murders of Olivia Hope and Ben Smart, who went missing in the Marlborough Sounds on New Year's Day, 1998.

Their bodies have never been found.

In his opening statement, Watson's lawyer Kerry Cook said the New Zealand public had heard only four words from his client since he was arrested on June 15, 1998.

Those words were "not guilty", when Watson entered his plea, and "you're wrong", after the jury delivered a guilty verdict.

Watson claimed he was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and he wanted to speak out about that, Cook told the High Court.

Watson wanted to tell his story to North & South journalist Mike White, who was not a "pen for hire" who wrote "tabloid drivel".

Cook said the chief executive of the Department of Corrections failed to take into account the huge public interest in Watson's case when considering his request for a meeting with White.

The chief executive also failed to consider Watson's right to freedom of speech.

Cook said the case "absolutely deals with fundamental rights".

A victim's rights were important, but "not absolute" and sometimes there was a "greater good" that needed to be considered, he said.

Cook discussed six key factors in his submission to the court about why the interview with White should be allowed, including:

- The fact the crime Watson was convicted of was "nationally known".

- There was "public doubt" regarding Watson's guilt.

- Watson wanted to speak publicly about his case and the "miscarriage of justice" he believed he had suffered.

- He wanted an interview "recorded for accuracy" with a print journalist.

- He did not want the interview to be carried out by just anyone, but by someone with an "impeccable record", who knew the case well and had covered it "from the start".

- He did not want to carry out the interview through "videos or radios or telephone... it's a print interview".

"New Zealanders should be entitled to hear Mr Watson's view ... it will be more than those four words that he has spoken."

Watson sat quietly next to Cook during the hearing, keeping his focus straight ahead towards Justice Rachel Dunningham.

It was the first time he had been seen in public for many years.

Counsel for the Corrections Department, Paul Risworth, said the potential harm to the victims and their families should be weighed against Watson's desire to speak publicly, particularly about any alleged miscarriage of justice.

The hearing finished at 3.05pm.

WATSON'S APPEALS UNSUCCESSFUL

Watson's appeals to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council were unsuccessful.

He started legal action against Corrections more than a year ago after unsuccessfully requesting prison visits with Hope's father, Gerald Hope, and North & South journalist Mike White

White, who would be in court to witness the hearing, said Corrections denied Watson's request to meet him behind bars because "it could cause concern for the victims' families".

"[Watson] hasn't said anything different for the last 17 years. It's hard to think what we could say in a story that would cause distress."

Watson had exhausted all his appeals and speaking to the public through the media was the "only option" left.

"He wants to continue to express his position that he's not guilty, that he didn't commit these crimes," White said.

"He's trying to do it in a responsible way through us."

White said the judicial review was important because otherwise "we're really allowing a censorship of something that's really fundamental for our justice system".

"We shouldn't be afraid. We should welcome having our justice system examined."

Corrections puts restrictions on interviews and recordings with prisoners, which may not take place without the written approval of both the chief executive and the prisoner concerned.

The review would not consider Corrections' decision to deny a meeting between Watson and Hope.

Gerald Hope previously said he wanted to meet Watson face-to-face to ask: "Did you do it, Scott?"

Watson is housed in minimum security at Rolleston Prison. His first parole hearing is due to be held in June.

Meanwhile, Watson will have his case investigated by an initiative set up to challenge suspected miscarriages of justice.

The New Zealand Public Interest Panel (NZPIP) will launch on June 13, as a joint initiative between the University of Canterbury and a high-powered panel of experts.