To access NZ and International Case Law resources, use the Case Law Tab above and select either New Zealand, Australia, UK and Ireland, or Other Jurisdictions.
You can also use these direct links:
You will find links to many relevant websites and databases.
Case Law
Case Law is the collective term for decisions or judgments issued by judges on cases they hear in court. Case law incorporates courts' decisions from individual cases and encompasses courts' interpretations of statutes, constitutional provisions and regulations.
New Zealand Case Law
Judgments record the outcome of a case, and the original version issued by the court is known as an unreported judgment or decision.
Some cases are then reported, or published in a report series such as the New Zealand Law Reports. Decisions are generally only reported if they are considered to be significant or to make an important contribution to the law.
Format of a Case Citation
| Party Names | Year | Vol | Report Series Abbreviation | Starting Page | Pinpoint Reference |
Roderique v Port FM Ltd [ 1992] 2 ERNZ 79 at 81.
Citators
To find the case you need, you may need to decode the abbreviation of the Law Report or Journal series in the case citation before going to to the relevant report series.
Cardiff index to legal abbreviations - a useful database for checking abbreviations and the correct titles of law reports.
Use a citator to check whether a case has been reported or trace its history.
Use these direct links to the appropriate Case Law Resources
Digests
Digests summarise the background and outcomes of cases, often in a regularly updated format. And example is Butterworths Current Law, accessed via LexisNexis NZ.