Our publications
The Law Commission publishes many different publications. Each type, such as reports, issues papers, and ministerial briefings, has its own series.
Each series has its own purpose. For example, issues papers identify law reform issues and call for submissions from the public. Reports are the final result of a project and contain recommendations for law reform. Use the search filters below to find particular publications.
Publication type
- Report (120) Apply Report filter
- Preliminary Paper (56) Apply Preliminary Paper filter
- Issues Paper (43) Apply Issues Paper filter
- Study Paper (22) Apply Study Paper filter
- Miscellaneous Paper (17) Apply Miscellaneous Paper filter
- Occasional Paper (5) Apply Occasional Paper filter
- Ministerial Briefing (4) Apply Ministerial Briefing filter
- Preferred Approach Paper (1) Apply Preferred Approach Paper filter
Corporate papers
Areas of law
On 28 June 2019 the Law Commission completed its review of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 and submitted its Report to the Minister responsible for the Law Commission. The Report was tabled in Parliament on 23 July 2019.
The...
The Law Commission has completed its second five-yearly review of the Evidence Act 2006, as required by section 202 of the Act. The review was referred to us by the Minister of Justice on 28 February 2017 and we formally reported to the Minister...
The Law Commission has published an Issues Paper reviewing the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 (CIBS Act) and the use of DNA in criminal investigations. In conducting the review we held frequent meetings with New Zealand...
In this Preferred Approach Paper, we concluded that reform is required to ensure that the law meets most New Zealanders' expectations of fairness when a relationship ends. We presented a package of key reforms that we proposed to recommend to the...
This ministerial briefing paper provides advice to the Minister of Justice on alternative approaches that could be taken in New Zealand’s abortion laws if the Government decides to treat abortion as a health issue. It describes three alternative...
In the second review of the Act, like the previous one, the Commission asked whether the Evidence Act 2016 was operating effectively and as intended.
Under section 202 of the Act, the Commission was required to consider whether the Act’s...