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...
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 Courts and Dispute Resolution filter Courts and Dispute Resolution
- (-) Remove Evidence filter Evidence
- (-) Remove Customary and Treaty Settlements Law filter Customary and Treaty Settlements Law
- Public (46) Apply Public filter
- Criminal (37) Apply Criminal filter
- Civil (32) Apply Civil filter
- Other (30) Apply Other filter
- Human Rights (23) Apply Human Rights filter
- Family (22) Apply Family filter
- Social (21) Apply Social filter
- Commercial (17) Apply Commercial filter
- Property/Trusts (14) Apply Property/Trusts filter
- International Law (7) Apply International Law filter
- Consumer (5) Apply Consumer filter
Project status: Closed
Start date 20 February 2017
Last updated 03 September 2019
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...
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 However, the law is vague in scope, uses outdated language and concepts, and is inaccessible to the New...
Project status: Closed
Start date 28 February 2012
Last updated 22 February 2017
Section 202(1) of the Evidence Act required the Commission to report to the Minister of Justice on the following matters:
(a) the operation of the provisions of the Act since its commencement;
(b) whether those provisions should be...
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 July 2010
Last updated 28 September 2016
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...
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 July 2009
Last updated 15 June 2016
This project arose from the Commission’s recommendation in their Report, Disclosure to Court of Defendants’ Previous Convictions, Similar Offending, and Bad Character (R103, 2008). The Commission recommended that Government should...
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 01 July 2010
Last updated 29 May 2015
The Judicature Act 1908 is over one hundred years old and has been amended many times. Many of the sections in the Act are outdated, and it contains “hidden” commercial law and judicial review provisions. The focus of the Law Commission’s...
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 April 2007
Last updated 11 May 2015
For this project, the Commission reviews existing rules of evidence around admissibility of previous convictions, similar offending and bad character. In particular, the extent to which the court is made aware of prior convictions of an accused,...
Project status: Closed
Start date 13 May 2004
Last updated 11 May 2015
This project reviews existing rules providing access to Court records and developing principles to govern access to Court records, the retention and archiving of records. It considers the appropriateness of a single code providing rules for all...