Dame Helen Winkelmann has taken her seat as New Zealand’s top Judge, noting in the legal star-studded swearing in ceremony that access to justice issues were some of the most important that confronted the legal profession. Addressing the court, she said the Supreme Court has woven the history of New Zealand into important judgments concerning […]
What The New Chief Justice Had To Say About Her New Court Read More »
The embedding of the public interest defence to defamation has raised the bar for publishers, Chapman Tripp says. The public interest defence differs from the Lange qualified privilege defence, which it replaces, in two key ways: it shifts the burden of proof from the complainant to the publisher, and it requires the publisher to prove not only
High Risks For Publishers With New Public Interest Defence Read More »
The Serious Fraud Office have commenced an investigation into Jami-Lee Ross’s accusations regarding National Party election donations. The SFO have announced in a press release today that they have received a referral from the Police about a complaint they received in October last year in relation to the disclosure of political donations under the Electoral
SFO To Investigate JLR Compaints On Electoral Act Donations Read More »
The retirement of Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias was notable for a number of reasons, particularly given the increasing focus upon gender equality in the legal profession and the notable women that hold top legal roles. The valedictory sitting was auspiciously held on International Woman’s Day, with appearances from two other women law leaders, Solicitor
Dame Sian Retires, And Top Woman QC Asks ‘How Much Do Women Want?’ Read More »
The Government’s negligent actions in allowing the deadly Psa disease into New Zealand will again be under close scrutiny as the kiwifruit case heads to the Court of Appeal this week. Nine years after the Psa outbreak which decimated the kiwifruit industry in New Zealand, the Government has appealed the decision that found MPI negligent
Kiwifruit Case Return to Court Over Government Negligence Read More »
Tom Brody – LawFuel wrote some time ago about what judges do when they retire – and the trend towards the ‘hitting 70 and the golf course’ may be changing as Justice Raynor Asher evidences with his return to legal work. The trend may also evidence that 70, which will shortly see Chief Justice Dame
Raynor Asher Continues The ‘Back to the Bar’ Trend Read More »
More lawyers than ever . . that’s the result of the Law Society’s latest stats on the New Zealand legal profession, which show over 14,000 lawyers holding practising certificates. That amounts to one lawyer for every 365 people in the country, one of the highest per-capital lawyers-per-head in the world. As LawFuel reported eight years
The ‘One a Day’ Lawyers: One Lawyer For Every 365 People in NZ Read More »
The rise of class actions in New Zealand, culminating most recent with the $36 million Mainzeal action, reflects a trend towards lawsuits against corporate targets rather than the government, according to a new report from Auckland University law lecturer Nikki Chamberlain. Her report shows that one third of class actions have been taken against the
The Rising Tide of Class Actions an “Access to Justice” Issue says Academic Read More »
Bob Jones* Recently, I wrote about “the good old days”, specifically the early 1960s and the character lawyers so prevalent then. Here’s another tale of those times to lighten your day. In my previous contribution I referred to Mike Bungay, John Tannahill (“Tan”), Des Deacon and Colin Beyer who about 1961 collectively set up offices
What Bob Jones Told Michael Cullen About The Changed Law Office Since the Days of Bungay Read More »
The majority of serious crime victims lack faith in the justice system and feel justice was not served in their case, according to new research released by Victim Support. Victim Support released preliminary findings from the study at the two-day Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata Safe and Effective Justice: Strengthening the Criminal Justice System for
Research Shows Victims Lack Faith in Justice System Read More »
