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 (...
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
- (-) Remove Public filter Public
- (-) Remove Criminal filter Criminal
- Courts and Dispute Resolution (40) Apply Courts and Dispute Resolution filter
- Civil (34) Apply Civil filter
- Other (33) Apply Other filter
- Human Rights (26) Apply Human Rights filter
- Family (23) Apply Family filter
- Social (22) Apply Social filter
- Commercial (18) Apply Commercial filter
- Property/Trusts (16) Apply Property/Trusts filter
- Evidence (15) Apply Evidence filter
- Customary and Treaty Settlements Law (10) Apply Customary and Treaty Settlements Law filter
- International Law (8) Apply International Law filter
- Consumer (5) Apply Consumer filter
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...
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...
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...
The forensic analysis of DNA is a powerful tool in solving crime. However, the use of DNA in criminal investigations also raises important legal and ethical issues.
In New Zealand the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995...
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,...
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...
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...
An element of the revised Law Commission work programme 2014/15 issued by the Minister of Justice included creation of a separate crime of non-fatal strangulation.
In its fourth Annual Report the Family Violence Death Review Committee...
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...