The current law
Aotearoa New Zealand has laws aimed at protecting the public from reoffending risks posed by some offenders convicted of serious crimes. These laws enable the detention or supervision of those offenders...
Our projects
Each project is an area of law or subject matter that the Law Commission has agreed to review. The Commission works on several projects at a time. Together, these projects make up the Commission's annual work programme.
Use the search filters below to find particular projects. For more information on how we work see how we conduct projects.
Project status
- (-) Remove Preparing report filter Preparing report
- (-) Remove Discontinued filter Discontinued
- (-) Remove Researching issues filter Researching issues
- (-) Remove Awaiting Government Response filter Awaiting Government Response
- Open (10) Apply Open filter
- (-) Remove Closed filter Closed
Areas of law
- Public (47) Apply Public filter
- Courts and Dispute Resolution (40) Apply Courts and Dispute Resolution filter
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- Civil (34) Apply Civil filter
- Other (33) Apply Other filter
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- Evidence (15) Apply Evidence filter
- Property/Trusts (15) Apply Property/Trusts filter
- Customary and Treaty Settlements Law (10) Apply Customary and Treaty Settlements Law filter
- International Law (8) Apply International Law filter
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Project status: Researching issues
Start date 01 July 2022
Last updated 01 July 2022
Project status: Researching issues
Start date 06 October 2021
Last updated 29 June 2022
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission (the Commission) will undertake a review of the law relating to adult decision-making capacity.
...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date
Last updated 27 June 2022
A class action is a court proceeding in which a group with similar interests collectively sues one or more defendants. The court proceeding is brought by a representative plaintiff on behalf of the class. We do not currently have class actions in...
Project status: Closed
Start date 18 December 2019
Last updated 27 June 2022
The Law Commission will review the law of succession. The law of succession is the system of rules that governs who gets a person’s property when they die.
In July 2019 the Minister Responsible for the Law Commission requested that the...
Project status: Researching issues
Start date 30 May 2022
Last updated 21 June 2022
The Evidence Act 2006 brings together most of the rules of evidence in a single statute. It was based on the Law Commission’s 1999 report...
Project status: Researching issues
Start date 12 October 2021
Last updated 02 June 2022
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission will produce a detailed study paper that examines tikanga Māori and its place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal landscape.
Tikanga Māori has been steadily gaining recognition in the courts and in...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 23 November 2020
Last updated 27 May 2022
The Government has asked Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission to conduct a review of surrogacy in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This review is a comprehensive examination of surrogacy law, regulation and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 01 December 2014
Last updated 20 October 2021
This project reviews the laws that determine how security sensitive information should be dealt with in court proceedings. The review looks at how to protect information that may prejudice New Zealand’s security. It also considers whether the...
Project status: Closed
Start date 24 May 2016
Last updated 14 October 2021
This project examined New Zealand’s relationship property legislation.
The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA) sets out the rules for how property owned by either or both partners is divided when they separate or when one of them dies...
Project status: Closed
Start date 12 October 2006
Last updated 20 September 2021
This project involves four stages, with publications at each stage.
Stage 1: Policy Overview was a high-level analysis to assess privacy values, changes in technology, international trends, and their implications for New Zealand law. It...