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.

3 July 2026

Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 88 KB)
Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 127 KB) 

All years

Case name
Musab Hamdi v The Queen 
Case number
SC 72/2017
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 32 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the trial Judge’s references in summing-up remedied the prosecutor’s breach of s 32 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding there was no trial counsel error creating a miscarriage of justice at the applicant’s trial
Result
A The application for an extension of time is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MUSAB HAMDI v R [2017] NZSC 134 [5 September 2017] (PDF, 89 KB)
Judgment appealed from

HAMDI v R [2017] NZCA 242  9 June 2017
Case name
C v The Queen
Case number
SC 75/2017
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 44 – Whether Court of Appeal erred in upholding a pre-trial ruling that evidence of sexual experience was not admissible.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
C (SC 75/2017) v R [2017] NZSC 141 [19 September 2017] (PDF, 75 KB)
Judgment appealed from

C v R [2017] NZCA 275    29 June 2017
Case name
Warren Charles Te Hei v The Queen
Case number
SC 87/2017
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction – Whether Court of Appeal erred in holding that the trial Judge’s directions about identification evidence were adequate.
High Court decision
R v WARREN CHARLES RE HEI [2016] NZHC 1538 [7 July 2016]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
WARREN CHARLES TE HEI v R [2017] NZSC 159 [13 October 2017] (PDF, 66 KB)
Judgment appealed from
TE HEI v R [2017] NZCA 299 [13 July 2017]
Case name
Trends Publishing International Limited v Advicewise People Limited, Callaghan Innovation, Mediaworks Radio Limited, and Webstar a division of Blue Star Group (New Zealand) Limited
Case number
SC 103/2017
Summary
Civil Appeal – Companies Act 1993, pt 14 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to determining “classes of creditors” – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to the evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the applicants had not disclosed adequate information to the creditors.
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Trends Publishing International Ltd v Advicewise People Ltd [2017] NZCA 365).
B The approved question is whether the order setting aside the proposal to creditors put forward by the directors of the applicant under pt 14 of the Companies Act 1993 should have been set aside.                                               
7 November 2017
_______________________
A The appeal is dismissed.
B The appellant is to pay the respondents costs of $25,000 and usual disbursements.
16 July 2018
Transcripts
Media Releases
High Court decision
ADVICEWISE PEOPLE LTD AND ORS v TRENDS PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LTD [2016] NZHC 2119 [7 September 2016]
Court of Appeal decision
TRENDS PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED v ADVICEWISE PEOPLE LIMITED [2017] NZCA 365 [24 August 2017]
Leave judgment - leave granted
TRENDS PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED v ADVICEWISE PEOPLE LIMITED [2017] NZSC 167 [7 November 2017] (PDF, 53 KB)
Substantive judgment
TRENDS PUBLISHING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED v ADVICEWISE PEOPLE LIMITED [2018] NZSC 62 [16 July 2018] (PDF, 511 KB)
Case name
B v The Queen
Case number
SC 126/2017
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that certain propensity evidence was admissible. 
Result

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. 
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Case name
T v The Queen
Case number
SC 129/2017
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, ss 8 and 43 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in overturning a pre-trial ruling that certain propensity evidence was not admissible. 
Result

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.                                                                                                      

8 February 2018 
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Case name
Douglas John Williamson v The Queen
Case number
SC 7/2016
Summary
Criminal appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that no miscarriage of justice occurred despite trial counsel acting inconsistently with his client’s instructions – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its application of the Animal Welfare Act 1999, s 28 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining an application to adduce further evidence.  [2015] NZCA 621  CA 398/2014
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
26  April 2016
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DOUGLAS JOHN WILLIAMSON v R [2016] NZSC 42   26 April 2016 (PDF, 73 KB)
Judgment appealed from

WILLIAMSON v R [2015] NZCA 621     18 December 2015

Case name
John Blackwood Williamson v The Queen 
Case number
SC 8/2016
Summary
Criminal appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that no miscarriage of justice occurred despite trial counsel acting inconsistently with his client’s instructions – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its application of the Animal Welfare Act 1999, s 28 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining an application to adduce further evidence.[2015] NZCA 621  CA 399/2014
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 26  April 2016
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DOUGLAS JOHN WILLIAMSON v R [2016] NZSC 42    26 April 2016 (PDF, 73 KB)
Judgment appealed from

WILLIAMSON v R [2015] NZCA 621    18 December 2015
Case name
Karl Leslie Raymond Marwood v The Commissioner of Police and others
Case number
SC 11/2016
Summary
Civil Appeal – Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the High Court has no power to exclude improperly obtained evidence in a proceeding under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the High Court Judge was wrong to exclude evidence. [2015] NZCA 608   CA 487/2014
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Commissioner of Police v Marwood [2015] NZCA 608).
B The approved question is:Did the Court of Appeal err in holding that the High Court had no jurisdiction (or power) to exclude the challenged evidence obtained by search of the applicant’ s premises and, if so, should the challenged evidence be excluded in this proceeding?11 April 2016
_____________
A The disputed evidence is admissible in these proceedings.
B The appeal is dismissed.
C There is no order as to costs.26 October 2016
Transcripts
Media Releases
Court of Appeal decision
THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE v MARWOOD & ORS [2015] NZCA 608 [17 December 2015]
Leave judgment - leave granted
KARL LESLIE RAYMOND MARWOOD v THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2016] NZSC 36 [11 April 2016] (PDF, 63 KB)
Substantive judgment
KARL LESLIE RAYMOND MARWOOD v COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2016] NZSC 139 [26 October 2016] (PDF, 350 KB)
Case name
The Queen v GJA and Privacy Commissioner (intervener)
Case number
SC 12/2016
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 30 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in excluding evidence on the basis that it was improperly obtained.
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (R v Alsford [2015] NZCA 628).
B The issues are:
(i)  whether the electricity consumption records were improperly obtained from the service provider;
(ii) whether the Court of Appeal was correct to hold that evidence that had earlier been excluded as improperly obtained could not be relied on; and
(iii)  whether, even if improperly obtained, the evidence should be admitted under s 30(2)(b) of the Evidence Act 2006.
15 March 2016
_____________
A The appeal is allowed. The evidence obtained from the searches conducted on 19 December 2012 is admissible at trial.
B Order prohibiting publication of the judgment or any part of the proceedings (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest permitted.
29 March 2017
Date of hearing
16 June 2016
Leave judgment - leave granted
R v GREGORY JOHN ALSFORD [2016] NZSC 21 [15 March 2016] (PDF, 12 KB)
Substantive judgment
R v GREGORY JOHN ALSFORD [2017] NZSC 42 [29 March 2017] (PDF, 505 KB)
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