New Zealand Law FAQ

Briefing a barrister

This page contains general information about barristers and the legal profession in New Zealand, as well as the process to directly instruct a barrister, which has been permitted in this country since 2015.

Cartel law and Collusion

This page has a general summary of the legal rules and restrictions in New Zealand competition law, by which the Commerce Commission prosecutes price fixing, market allocation, output restriction or bid rigging cartels.

AML-CFT – financial crime law & compliance

This page provides a brief summary of the Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, its scope of coverage, and the main financial crime compliance obligations upon regulated reporting entities.

The main New Zealand regulators

This page has a broad overview of the 9 leading commercial regulators in New Zealand, covering a wide range of financial, corporate, economic fields of business – including technology, transport, and infrastructure regulators

The New Zealand court system

This page explains the structure of the New Zealand court system and heirarchy, from the District Court up to the Supreme Court, and other relevant tribunals.

Privacy and Data Protection law

This page offers a basic introduction to the scope of New Zealand privacy laws, including data protection and information principles in the Privacy Act 2020, and common law rights to reduce intrusions on personal privacy.

International Sanctions

This page has a general summary of the economic, trading and financial restrictions (“Sanctions”) applied by the New Zealand government under new Russia Sanctions law, implemented in response to foreign geo-political developments

Public law

This page gives an introduction to what is called Public Law – broadly describing how government institutions, officers, regulators and councils deal with people and firms – developing policy, preparing rules, making decisions, intervention and enforcement etc