This project examines New Zealand’s relationship property legislation. When it was enacted, the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 was seen as a significant and long-awaited step in the development of relationship property law in New Zealand. It...
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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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...
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 which meets...
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...
In October 1997 the Law Commission started a new project on the subject of international trade with the project’s first report, Electronic Commerce Part One: A Guide for the Legal and Business Community (NZLC R50) released a year later. This is...
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 purpose of this project is to enquire into and report on the following issues:
- Is there a need for changes, whether administrative or legislative, to address problems which have arisen in the period leading up to and in the course...
This project discusses nine current trust law problems and makes recommendations thereon. One proposal is to authorise trustees to delegate to agents their powers to administer the trust, including powers of investment and management, but...
This project reviews the law of succession. This is the law which governs how a person's property is to be dealt with when they die.
This project explores the interaction between custom and human rights in the Pacific, including New Zealand, by articulating some of the issues arising from this interaction and how the two can inform each other.