Courts of New Zealand | Ngā Kōti o Aotearoa

Step back into 140 years of legal history when the Old High Court opens to the public on the evening of Wednesday 5 November, as part of the Wellington Heritage Festival. Opened in 1881, the Old High Court in Wellington has heard many significant court cases, from the defining — the hearing following Parihaka, Bill Sutch’s espionage trial, and the case that stopped the All Blacks from playing in apartheid South Africa — to the intriguing: “A startling occurrence” in the Kirkcaldie & Stains tearoom. The open evening provides a unique opportunity to explore the meticulously restored Category 1 Heritage Building. Follow the discovery trail, find out more about the courts, historic cases, previous Chief Justices, and descend to the cells below. Suitable for families, no booking is required. Wednesday 5 November, 5:15-7:30pm Old High Court Building Entry via Stout Street. Wellington 6011 https://lnkd.in/ggMB6kEC #courtsofnz #oldhighcourt #heritage

The Chief Justice welcomes the Attorney-General’s announcement today of the appointments of Associate Judge Owen Paulsen as a Judge of the High Court, and Auckland barrister and solicitor Helen Wild as an Associate Judge of the High Court. https://lnkd.in/gJWuG3Pm #courtsofnz #highcourt #judge

NZSC releases declarations of inconsistency in Attorney-General v Chisnall [2025] NZSC 126: sen.nz/w0s6h6 #courtsofnz #judgment #supremecourt

Te Kura Kaiwhakawā has today published updates to the Criminal Jury Trials Bench Book and Te Puna Manawa Whenua Bench Book | Māori Land Court Bench Book, which can be found in the “update history" for each bench book. To view the Criminal Jury Trials Bench Book, see: https://lnkd.in/gk-BTtZ7 To view Te Puna Manawa Whenua Bench Book | Māori Land Court Bench Book, see: https://lnkd.in/g5cC5SRg #courtsofnz #judicialeducation

Supreme Court releases judgment in Re Solicitor-General’s Reference (No 1 of 2024) [2025] NZSC 121: https://lnkd.in/gfh7s3Vm #courtsofnz #supremecourt #judgment

Supreme Court releases judgment in T (SC 95/2024) v Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand [2025] NZSC 119: https://lnkd.in/gd7T7VU3 #courtsofnz #supremecourt #judgment

Supreme Court releases judgment in Lassnig v Zhou and another [2025] NZSC 116: https://lnkd.in/gXxH5fgk #courtsofnz #supremecourt #judgment

The Disputes Tribunal has released its Annual Report for 2024. The Report contains information on Disputes Tribunal operations, timeframes, volumes and membership. It details how the service is transitioning to make it easier to access, able to handle higher volumes of claims, and poised to provide faster resolution for those claims. To access the report, see: https://lnkd.in/d-pZXV_f #courtsofnz #disputestribunal

Chief High Court Judge, Justice Fitzgerald has today published the Commercial List Practice Note for the Auckland High Court. The Practice Note comes into effect on 6 October 2025, setting out the case management practices employed to secure the overriding objective of the High Court Rules in the resolution of commercial proceedings. The Commercial List is designed to improve efficiency with close case management, reduced interlocutory time and quicker hearing dates.  It has been designed in consultation with a profession working group, to ensure that the processes and procedures for the List will be practical and effective. For further information, see https://lnkd.in/gnMNDY3y #courtsofnz #highcourt #practicenote

Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann has today released her 2024 Annual Report. The report provides information about judges, about the role and responsibilities of the judicial branch of government, and about the work of the courts in 2024. It is intended to support public understanding of the courts, and to enable public scrutiny of how they are administered. It describes the priorities of judicial leadership, which include initiatives to improve access to justice, to address court delays, and to modernise the courts’ systems and processes.  For further information and to access the full report, see: https://lnkd.in/gbuQa7rQ #courtsofnz #chiefjustice #annualreport