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,...
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: Work on hold
Start date 27 July 2016
Last updated 30 October 2017
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: Closed
Start date 01 July 2011
Last updated 28 September 2016
The ability of citizens to bring civil legal proceedings against the Crown and its servants is an important part of New Zealand’s constitution, and is protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The Crown Proceedings Act 1950 is 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 Many of the sections in the Act are outdated, and it contains “hidden” commercial law and judicial review provisions.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 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...
Project status: Closed
Start date 03 March 1998
Last updated 11 May 2015
This purpose of this project is to advise whether compensation should be paid to those who have been wrongly prosecuted or convicted of an offence, and if so, to recommend a systematic basis upon which compensation may be determined and paid.
Project status: Closed
Start date 01 July 1996
Last updated 11 May 2015
The topic of this project has two related issues, each of fundamental importance to New Zealanders. One is whether New Zealand women are treated properly by the legal system. That raises in turn a second issue – whether the New Zealand citizen...
Project status: Closed
Start date 12 October 2007
Last updated 11 May 2015
This Act has not been reviewed for many years and is out of date in a number of respects. The Act covers a range of interests, including remuneration of the Governor-General, Ministers and Members of Parliament, which make independent...
Project status: Closed
Start date 12 October 2006
Last updated 11 May 2015
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...
Project status: Closed
Start date 10 December 2003
Last updated 11 May 2015
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...