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...
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 Calling for submissions filter Calling for submissions
- (-) Remove Preparing report filter Preparing report
- (-) Remove Discontinued filter Discontinued
- Researching issues (4) Apply Researching issues filter
- (-) Remove Awaiting Government Response filter Awaiting Government Response
- (-) Remove Open filter Open
- Closed (143) Apply Closed filter
Areas of law
- Human Rights (5) Apply Human Rights filter
- Civil (4) Apply Civil filter
- Criminal (4) Apply Criminal filter
- Public (4) Apply Public filter
- Evidence (3) Apply Evidence filter
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- Other (3) Apply Other filter
- Courts and Dispute Resolution (2) Apply Courts and Dispute Resolution filter
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Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 01 July 2019
Last updated 09 August 2022
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: 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: 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: Open
Start date 09 April 2021
Last updated 08 September 2021
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission has commissioned Professor Janet McLean QC to write a Study Paper concerning Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal and institutional framework for pandemics and other threats. Building on the Commission’s Final...
Project status: Discontinued
Start date 27 July 2016
Last updated 06 April 2021
The declaratory judgment is an important judicial remedy. It provides an efficient and effective means by which parties can clarify and establish their legal rights and obligations, without the need for further remedies. There is, however,...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 28 June 2016
Last updated 15 October 2018
The Law Commission and the Ministry of Justice conducted a review of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, as is required by section 357 of that Act. The review was referred to us by the then Minister of Justice on 28 June 2016 and we jointly...