Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is reviewing how the law should respond when an adult’s decision-making is affected.
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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.
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Project status: Calling for submissions
Start date 06 October 2021
Last updated 28 November 2022
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 23 November 2020
Last updated 15 November 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: Researching issues
Start date 01 July 2022
Last updated 04 July 2022
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 beyond a fixed-term prison sentence (...
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 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 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 20 February 2017
Last updated 03 September 2019
For nearly 30 years the Law Commission has been engaged in reforming the law of evidence in New Zealand.
In August 1989 the Minister of Justice asked the Commission to review all evidence law to make it as clear, simple and accessible as...
Project status: Closed
Start date 27 February 2018
Last updated 30 August 2019
On 27 February 2018 the Minister of Justice wrote to the Law Commission noting the Government was considering how best to ensure New Zealand’s abortion laws are consistent with treating abortion as a health issue.
The Minister asked the...
Project status: Closed
Start date 11 April 2013
Last updated 17 August 2017
The objective of the law of contempt of court is to protect the integrity of the justice system and a defendant’s right to a fair trial. However, the law is vague in scope, uses outdated language and concepts, and is inaccessible to the New...