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New Zealand Court Hierarchy and Precedent

This document summarizes key aspects of the New Zealand court hierarchy and legal system. It outlines the levels of courts in New Zealand and compares them to those in the UK and Australia. It also defines the concepts of original and appellate jurisdiction as well as precedent and binding versus persuasive precedent. Courts in New Zealand are bound by decisions of higher courts and must apply precedent, though they are not bound by their own or foreign decisions.

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James Peacock
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13 views2 pages

New Zealand Court Hierarchy and Precedent

This document summarizes key aspects of the New Zealand court hierarchy and legal system. It outlines the levels of courts in New Zealand and compares them to those in the UK and Australia. It also defines the concepts of original and appellate jurisdiction as well as precedent and binding versus persuasive precedent. Courts in New Zealand are bound by decisions of higher courts and must apply precedent, though they are not bound by their own or foreign decisions.

Uploaded by

James Peacock
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Law 131 Test Notes

1
1.1

Hierarchy of the Courts


New Zealand
Supreme Court*
I
Court of appeal
I
High Court**
I
District/Family Court
I
Tribunals

Prior to 2004 the highest court of NZ was the Privy Council.


Prior to 1980 the High Court was called the Supreme Court.

1.2

UK and Australia

In the UK the equivalent of the Supreme Court is called The House of Lords
and the High Court is called The Queens Bench.
In Australia the equivalent of the High Court is called the Supreme Court
and the equivalent of the Supreme Court is called the High Court.

1.3

Jurisdiction

Original Jurisdiction Court has the power to take the case in first instance.
Appellate Jurisdiction The Court has the power to review the decision of a
lower court to ensure that the law was applied correctly.

Precedent

Precedent is the idea that the decisions made in cases in the past should be
applied to similar cases that occur today. Stare Decisis is the idea that a
decision from a higher level court is binding on lower courts.
Every New Zealand court is bound by decisions of the court above it. New
Zealand courts are neither bound by their own decisions, nor by overseas decisions.
There are 2 dierent types of precedent:

Binding Precedent The court has no choice but to follow along with the
decision made earlier. A Supreme Court decision is binding on the High
Court and thus a high court judge will have no choice in his decision.
Persuasive Precedent The court has a choice of whether to follow the previous decision or to go in a dierent direction. Lower court decisions are
not binding on higher courts, but they may be persuaded to follow the
decision anyway. The more powerful the court that made the decision the
more persuasive it is.

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