A class action is a court proceeding in which a group with similar interests collectively sues one or more defendants. The court proceeding is typically brought by a representative plaintiff on behalf of the class. New Zealand does not currently...
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
Areas of law
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Project status: Researching issues
Start date
Last updated 02 June 2020
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 November 2013
Last updated 28 September 2016
This review covers the Extradition Act 1999 and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992. These Acts provide a framework for formal assistance between New Zealand and foreign governments in the investigation and prosecution of crime. They...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 01 December 2014
Last updated 14 December 2015
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 06 May 1998
Last updated 21 August 2015
In October 1997 the Law Commission started a new project on the subject of international trade with the project’s first report, Electronic Commerce Part One: A Guide for the Legal and Business Community (NZLC R50) released a year later. This is...
Project status: Closed
Start date 05 September 1986
Last updated 11 May 2015
This project examines and reviews the law relating to bodies incorporated under the Companies Act 1955, and reports on the form and content of a new Companies Act.
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 September 1997
Last updated 11 May 2015
This project raises a question about a discrete aspect of the law of contract: whether or not to repeal the rules in the Contracts Enforcement Act 1956 that to be enforceable land contracts and guarantees must be in writing that is signed by the...
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 May 1990
Last updated 11 May 2015
This project reviews six contract statutes with the assistance of leading experts. The preparation and wider dissemination of these valuable accounts of the jurisprudence which has developed around the statutes is the major purpose of the review...
Project status: Closed
Start date 12 October 2007
Last updated 11 May 2015
The focus of this review is on the criteria and process for the registration and deregistration of private schools under section 35A of the Education Act 1989; the role of ERO in assessing and reviewing schools against those criteria; legislative...
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 February 2005
Last updated 11 May 2015
This project explores the interaction between custom and human rights in the Pacific, including New Zealand, by articulating some of the issues arising from this interaction and how the two can inform each other.
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 June 2010
Last updated 11 May 2015
The Incorporated Societies Act 1908 is uncomfortably old and has been little amended since its enactment. Yet the range of community organisations that use this legal form is extensive in New Zealand. The focus of this review was on modernising...