On this project, the Law Commission undertook a first principles review of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964. The Act’s primary purpose is to ensure provision is made for the burial of the dead in a controlled and respectful manner...
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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In 2011, the Law Commission was asked to review the use of pecuniary penalties as a regulatory tool. These are financial penalties that policymakers are increasingly opting to use in place of criminal sanctions, to punish and deter misconduct in...
For this project, the Commission reviews the Trustee Act 1956 and trust law generally. In the first stage of this review, the Report, Review of the Law of Trusts: A Trusts Act for New Zealand (R130) is preceded by six Issues Papers. The...
The Law Commission, in conjunction with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), reviewed the Land Transfer Act 1952 and amendment Acts. An Issues Paper (IP10) was published in October 2008. The aim of the review was to modernise and streamline the...
Part 8 of the Crimes Act 1961 deals with crimes against the person. The project reviewed the adequacy and coherence of the current offence provisions, considered whether there were any gaps in them and revised maximum penalty levels. The project...
Advice provided by the Law Commission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on Sue Bradford's Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill.
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...
Covert filming of people in intimate situations raises a number of specific privacy issues. As a modern form of voyeurism it also has a sexual dimension. The issue intersects with a number of areas of law, including privacy and censorship as well...
This project reviews the rules relating to the parental status of adults with children, including the review of the legal meaning of parent, the purpose of parenthood laws, and the importance of the legal relationship between a parent and child...
This project recommends changes to the framework for the regulation of life insurers and life insurance products in New Zealand.