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.
19 June 2026
Case information summary (as at 19 June 2026) – Cases where leave granted (PDF, 89 KB)
Case information summary (as at 19 June 2026) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 126 KB)
All years
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Webster v R [2025] NZCA 679).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
16 April 2026
Civil Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Hoban v Attorney-General [2025] NZCA 644).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
5 May 2026
Civil Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Zuru New Zealand Ltd v Lego Holding A/S [2025] NZCA 650).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to allow the appeal.
07 May 2026
Criminal Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (RH & JY Trust v WorkSafe New Zealand [2026] NZCA 12).
B The approved question is whether a trust and/or the trustees of a trust acting collectively is a “person” within the meaning of s 16 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015?
13 May 2026
Civil Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Smith v Attorney-General [2024] NZCA 692, [2025] 2 NZLR 1).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
19 December 2025
Criminal Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Commissioner of Police v Apanui [2024] NZCA 307).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to allow the appeal.
18 July 2025
- Hearing date 11 November 2025 Appellant's submissions (PDF, 252 KB)
- Hearing date 11 November 2025 Respondent's submissions (PDF, 480 KB)
- Hearing date 11 November 2025 Transcript (PDF, 457 KB)
- Hearing date 11 November 2025 Case Synopsis (PDF, 454 KB)
- SC 18/2025 Apanui v Commissioner of Police (Recorded, 11 November 2025)
Criminal Appeal
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B Leave to appeal is granted in part (Iongi v R [2024] NZCA 522).
C The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal against conviction.
D The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
03 July 2025
_______________________________________________________
A The appeal is allowed. The conviction of Manu Iongi for manslaughter is quashed.
B Order made under ss 233(3)(a) and 241(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 that a judgment of acquittal be entered.
11 December 2025
- Hearing date 22 October 2025 Appellant's submissions (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Hearing date 22 October 2025 Respondent's submissions (PDF, 1017 KB)
- Hearing date 22 October 2025 Appellant's outline (PDF, 162 KB)
- Hearing date 22 October 2025 Transcript (PDF, 681 KB)
- Hearing date 22 October 2025 Case Synopsis (PDF, 463 KB)
- MR [2025] NZSC 191 (PDF, 300 KB)
Criminal Appeal
A Leave to appeal is granted (Commonwealth of Australia v BW [2025] NZCA 8).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to allow the appeal and find that the High Court erred in law when it concluded it would be oppressive to extradite BW to Australia.
16 June 2025
- Hearing date 4 November 2025 Appellant submissions (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- Hearing date 4 November 2025 Respondent submissions (PDF, 1.3 MB)
- Hearing date 4 November 2025 Transcript (PDF, 434 KB)
- Hearing date 4 November 2025 Case Synopsis (PDF, 453 KB)
- MR [2026] NZSC 81 (PDF, 286 KB)
- SC 22/2025 BW v Commonwealth of Australia (Recorded, 4 November 2025)
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
- Hearing date 17 February 2026 Transcript (PDF, 651 KB)
- Hearing date 17 February 2026 Case Synopsis (PDF, 448 KB)
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondents one set of costs of $2,500.
23 July 2025