New Zealand Law Society - Law reform submissions
One of the Law Society's most valued roles is to provide an informed and reasoned voice for lawyers and for the public on bills referred to select committee and discussion papers from government agencies and other bodies. Read below for our current and recent work.
Our Law Reform Committees are currently considering the following consultations:
The Government is consulting on proposed changes to New Zealand’s conservation management system. The Department of Conservation has released two discussion documents: Modernising conservation land management and Exploring charging for access to some public conservation land. The Law Society’s Environmental Law Committee will consider whether to make a submission; to contribute comments, email Claire Browning.
A Government Bill which seeks to amend the Crimes Act 1961 in order to prevent and respond to foreign interference targeting New Zealand has been introduced. The Law Society will consider making a submissions with input from its Criminal Law and Human Rights and Privacy Committees; to contribute comments, please email Shelly Musgrave.
A Government Bill which seeks to amend the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 in order to increase the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has been introduced. The Law Society will consider making a submission with input from its Civil Litigation & Tribunals Committee; to contribute comments, please email Nilu Ariyaratne.
A Government Bill which seeks to establish a Young Serious Offender (YSO) declaration and a new military-style academy order in the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 has been introduced. The Law Society will make a submission with input from its Criminal Law and Youth Justice Committees; to contribute comments, please email Shelly Musgrave.
The Ministry for Regulation is seeking feedback on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill which aims to ‘improve the quality of regulation in New Zealand by making responsible Ministers and agencies more transparently accountable for good quality regulation’. The Law Society will consider making a submission with input from its Public Law Committee; to contribute comments, please email Nilu Ariyaratne. Read more.
Some of the Law Society’s recent submissions and correspondence on law reform issues are set out below. A full list of submissions and correspondence can be found under the archive section on this page.