New Zealand Law Commission

For other uses, see Law Commission.

Law Commission
Te Aka Matua O Te Ture
Agency overview
Formed	1986
Headquarters	Level Level 19, 171 Featherston St, Wellington, New Zealand
Employees	32
Annual budget	$4.3m
Agency executives	Hon Justice Sir Grant Hammond, President Brigid Corcoran, Manager
Website
lawcom.govt.nz

New Zealand's Law Commission was established in 1986 by the Law Commission Act 1985.^[1] The Commission is a Crown Entity under the Crown Entities Act 2004.

The purpose of the Law Commission as set out in its founding legislation is to review and make recommendations for the improvement of the law of New Zealand and to advise on how to make the law as understandable and accessible as practicable.^[2]

Commissioners

The Commissioners of the Law Commission are:

• Hon Justice Sir Grant Hammond KNZM
• Dr Warren Young ^[3]
• Professor John Burrows QC ^[4]
• George Tanner QC
• Val Sim
• Professor Geoffrey McLay

Projects

Recent major work of the Commission includes:

• Reporting on streamlining the formal government inquiry system by replacing Royal Commissions of Inquiry with public inquiries ^[5]
• Identifying old and obsolete legislation for repeal or consolidation ^[6]
• Calling for the repeal of sedition laws ^[7]
• Reviewing the Civil List Act 1979^[8]
• Reviewing New Zealand’s liquor laws

Operations

The Law Commission has a staff of 32 and a budget of approximately NZ$4.3 million.

References

1. ^ "Short Title and commencement". Law Commission Act 1985. Section 1.
2. ^ "Functions". Law Commission Act 1985. Section 5.
3. ^ http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new+law+commissioner+expert+criminals+victims+and+courts
4. ^ http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new+appointment+law+commission
5. ^ Bingham, Eugene (27 May 2008). "Call to streamline formal inquiry system". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10512666. Retrieved 12 September 2011. 
6. ^ Koubaridis, Andrew (31 May 2008). "Weird old laws can still trap the unwary". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10513619. Retrieved 12 September 2011. 
7. ^ "Lawyers call for abolition of sedition laws". The New Zealand Herald. 5 April 2007. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=171&objectid=10432813. Retrieved 12 September 2011. 
8. ^ "Review of Civil List Act 1979". Law Commission. 29 July 2008. http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/ProjectGeneral.aspx?ProjectID=140. Retrieved 2008-09-16. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Law Commission
• TalkLaw – the Law Commission's online consultation website
• Law Commission Act 1985