The Minister responsible for the Law Commission, Hon Kiri Allan, has asked Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission to review the protections in the Human Rights Act 1993 for transgender people, non-binary people and people with diverse sex...
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 Criminal filter Criminal
- (-) Remove Civil filter Civil
- (-) Remove Evidence filter Evidence
- (-) Remove International Law filter International Law
- Human Rights (5) Apply Human Rights filter
- Family (3) Apply Family filter
- Other (3) Apply Other filter
- Public (3) Apply Public filter
- Courts and Dispute Resolution (1) Apply Courts and Dispute Resolution filter
- Property/Trusts (1) Apply Property/Trusts filter
- Social (1) Apply Social filter
Project status: Open
Start date 16 January 2023
Last updated 21 December 2022
Project status: Researching issues
Start date 01 July 2022
Last updated 04 July 2022
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 (...
Project status: Researching issues
Start date 30 May 2022
Last updated 28 September 2022
The Evidence Act 2006 brings together most of the rules of evidence in a single statute. It was based on the Law Commission’s 1999 report and decade-long review of evidence law in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In February 2022, the Minister of...
Project status: Calling for submissions
Start date 06 October 2021
Last updated 28 November 2022
Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission is reviewing how the law should respond when an adult’s decision-making is affected.
...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 23 November 2020
Last updated 15 November 2022
The Government has asked Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission to conduct a review of surrogacy in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This review is a comprehensive examination of surrogacy law, regulation and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The...
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: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 15 July 2015
Last updated 12 May 2016
In 2001 the Law Commission published a report examining the legal defences available to protect those who commit criminal offences as a reaction to domestic violence: “Some Criminal defences with Particular Reference to Battered Defendants”...
Project status: Awaiting Government Response
Start date 01 December 2014
Last updated 20 October 2021
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...