Process and powers (civil)

Key statutes

  • Admiralty Act 1973
  • Arbitration Act 1996                                             
  • Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Act 1979    
  • Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017
  • Declaratory Judgments Act 1908                               
  • District Court Act 2016
  • Domicile Act 1976
  • Electronic Courts and Tribunals Act 2016
  • Evidence Act 2006                                                  
  • Harassment Act 1997
  • Inferior Courts Procedure Act 1909
  • Judicial Review Procedure Act 2016
  • Juries Act 1981
  • Limitation Act 2010                                                    
  • Contempt of Court Act 2019

Key secondary legislation

  • District Court Rules 2014
  • High Court Rules 2016
  • Supreme Court Rules 2004
  • Court of Appeal (Civil) Rules 2005
  • District Court (Access to Court Documents) Rules 2017
  • Family Court Rules 2002
  • Districts Courts Fees Regulations 2009
  • Contract and Commercial Law (Electronic Transactions) Regulations 2017 (administered by MBIE)

Information/links to recent or currently underway reviews

Current reviews and initiatives include:

  • Rules Committee – The Rules Committee regularly updates Court Rules to improve court practice. The Committee’s current projects (as at May 2021) in the civil jurisdiction include:
    • Promoting access to civil justice
    • Costs for lay-litigants
    • Electronic filing in the High Court
    • Electronic filing in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court
    • Representative proceedings
  • The Contempt of Court Act 2019 consolidated and modernised the rules relating to contempt of court.

Forward work

The Rules Committee regularly updates Court Rules to improve court practice. Further information on the Rules Committee can be found at: 

Courts of NZ: Rules Committee(external link)

 
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