Supreme Court case information
Listed below are the substantive Supreme Court cases for the year along with appeals still to be determined or cases awaiting hearing.
Information giving an overview of the case is included along with media releases and links to judgments being appealed when available.
All 2024 - 2014 Supreme Court cases dismissed or deemed to be dismissed where a notice of abandonment was received can be found here.
Transcripts for cases heard before the Supreme Court are included provided they are not suppressed. Transcripts from pre-trial hearings are not published until the final disposition of trial. These are unedited transcripts and they are not a formal record of the Court’s proceedings. The Ministry of Justice does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any material and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.
4 September 2026
Case information summary (as at 4 September 2026) – Cases where leave granted (PDF, 116 KB)
Case information summary (as at 4 September 2026) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 132 KB)
All years
Criminal Appeal
A The application for leave to appeal is granted.
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the applicant’s appeal against conviction.
5 March 2026
- Hearing date 14 July 2026 Appellant's submissions (PDF, 425 KB)
- Hearing date 14 July 2026 Respondent's submissions (PDF, 683 KB)
- Hearing date 14 July 2026 Case Synopsis (PDF, 445 KB)
- SC 108/2025 Julius Te Hivaka v The King (Recorded, 14 July 2026)
Criminal Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted in part (Watson v R [2025] NZCA 455). The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to conclude no miscarriage of justice arose from the decision of the trial Judge to admit the visual identification evidence of Guy Wallace.
B The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
10 March 2026
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B There is no order as to costs.
22 October 2025
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED.
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED.
21 November 2025
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED.
ORDER PROHIBITING PUBLICATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND ANY PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS (INCLUDING THE RESULT) IN NEWS MEDIA OR ON THE INTERNET OR OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF TRIAL. PUBLICATION IN LAW REPORT OR LAW DIGEST PERMITTED.
21 November 2025
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Civil Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted in part (Wu v Liu [2025] NZCA 560).
B The approved questions are:
(a) whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining that a July 2018 deed found to be entered into by the parties as a result of unlawful threats made by the applicant against the respondent was illegal and void, rather than voidable on the basis that it was entered into under duress; and
(b) whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to determine that, had the deed’s validity properly been assessed on the basis that it was voidable for duress and not void for illegality, the deed was affirmed by the respondent, as the High Court had found.
C The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
14 April 2026
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Appellant's submissions (PDF, 284 KB)
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Respondent's submissions (PDF, 314 KB)
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Appellant's reply submissions (PDF, 296 KB)
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Appellant's Outline of Oral Argument (PDF, 175 KB)
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Respondent's Outline of Oral Argument (PDF, 65 KB)
- Hearing date 6 August 2026 Case Synopsis (PDF, 445 KB)
- SC 166/2025 Jinxing Liu v Hua Wu (Recorded, 6 August 2026)
Criminal appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
2 April 2026
Civil appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicants must pay the first to sixth respondents one set of costs of $2,500.
15 April 2026
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal