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
27 June 2024
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
13 April 2022
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A The appeal is allowed. The decision of the Court of Appeal is set aside.
B A declaration is made that the provisions of the Electoral Act 1993 and of the Local Electoral Act 2001 which provide for a minimum voting age of 18 years are inconsistent with the right in s 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 to be free from discrimination on the basis of age; these inconsistencies have not been justified in terms of s 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
C Costs are reserved.
21 November 2022
- Hearing date 12 July 2022 Appellant Submissions (PDF, 466 KB)
- Hearing date12 July 2022 Appellant outline of oral argument (PDF, 148 KB)
- Hearing date 12 July 2022 Make it 16 Respondent submissions (PDF, 467 KB)
- Hearing date 12 July 2022 Respondent outline of oral argument (PDF, 229 KB)
- Hearing 12 July 2022 (PDF, 537 KB)
- Hearing date 12 July 2022 (PDF, 470 KB)
- MR [2022] NZSC 134 (PDF, 261 KB)
- Make it 16 Incorporated v Attorney General SC 14/2022 (Recorded, 21 November 2022)
- Make it 16 Incorporated v Attorney General SC 14/2022 (Recorded, 12 July 2022)
B Leave to permit Mr Pidgeon to act for the applicant is granted.
C The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
D There is no order as to costs.
6 May 2022
B Leave to appeal is granted (R v Hall [1987] 1 NZLR 616 (CA)).
C The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
3 May 2022
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A The appeal is allowed.
B The convictions of the appellant are quashed.
C Order under s 385(2) of the Crimes Act 1961 directing that verdicts of acquittal be entered.
8 June 2022
- Hearing date 8 June 2022 Appellant submission (PDF, 1 MB)
- Hearing date 8 June 2022 Respondent submission (PDF, 642 KB)
- Hearing date 8 June 2022 (PDF, 383 KB)
- MR 2022 NZSC 71 (PDF, 201 KB)
Civil Appeal
A Leave to appeal and to cross-appeal is granted (Chisnall v Attorney-General [2021] NZCA 616 and Chisnall v Attorney-General [2022] NZCA 24).
B The approved questions are as follows:
(a) Whether the Court of Appeal was correct to make declarations that Part 1A of the Parole Act 2002 [extended supervision orders] and the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014 [public safety orders] are inconsistent with s 26(2) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 [the Bill of Rights]; and
(b) Whether the Court of Appeal was correct not to make declarations that extended supervision orders and public safety orders are inconsistent with ss 9, 22, 23(5), 25(a), (c) and (d), and 26(1) of the Bill of Rights.
22 June 2022
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A The appeal is allowed in part.
B The cross-appeal is dismissed.
C We seek submissions from counsel on the form of the declarations of inconsistency, as set out at [269].
D Costs are reserved.
19 December 2024
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A We make the declarations of inconsistency set out at [18].
B The appellants must pay the respondent one set of costs of $70,000 plus usual disbursements. We allow for second counsel.
30 September 2025
- Hearing date 3 and 4 April 2023 Appellant Cross Respondent Supplementary Submissions (PDF, 481 KB)
- Hearing date 3 and 4 April 2023 Respondent Cross Appellant Supplementary Submissions (PDF, 474 KB)
- Hearing date 3 and 4 April 2023 Intervener Submissions (PDF, 1 MB)
- Hearing date 17/18 October 2022 Appellants' Submissions (PDF, 571 KB)
- Hearing date 17/18 October 2022 Respondent's Submissions (PDF, 417 KB)
- Hearing date 17/18 October 2022 Cross-Appellant's Submissions on Cross-Appeal (PDF, 350 KB)
- Hearing date 17/18 October 2022 Cross-Respondents' Submissions on Cross-Appeal (PDF, 416 KB)
- Hearing date 17 and 18 October 2022 (PDF, 606 KB)
- Hearing date 3 and 4 April 2023 (PDF, 987 KB)
- Hearing date 17 October + 18 October 2022 (PDF, 677 KB)
- MR [2024] NZSC 178 (PDF, 371 KB)
- MR [2025] NZSC 126 (PDF, 259 KB)
- The Attorney-General and The Chief Executive, Ara Poutama Aotearoa Department of Corrections v Mark David Chisnall SC 26/2022 - 4 April 2023 (Recorded, 4 April 2023)
- The Attorney-General and The Chief Executive, Ara Poutama Aotearoa Department of Corrections v Mark David Chisnall SC 26/2022 - 3 April 2023 (Recorded, 3 April 2023)
- The Attorney-General v Mark David Chisnall SC 26/2022 - 18 October 2022 (Recorded, 18 October 2022)
- The Attorney-General v Mark David Chisnall SC 26/2022 - 17 October 2022 (Recorded, 17 October 2022)
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
27 May 2022
B The applicant must pay the first respondents costs of $2,500.
27 June 2022
B The standard conditions under s 14(1) of the Parole Act 2002 apply but expire on the sentence expiry date.
16 December 2022
- Hearing date 8 September 2022 Appellant submissions (PDF, 2.4 MB)
- Hearing date 8 September 2022 Respondent submissions (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Hearing date 8 September 2022 PHILIP Jason Brendon v R (PDF, 432 KB)
- MR [2022] NZSC 149 (PDF, 264 KB)
B The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $500.
21 September 2022
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A The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 21 September 2022 (Dunstan v Attorney-General [2022] NZSC 111) is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $1,500.
21 April 2023
B Leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment and the resentencing judgment is granted.
C The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to conclude that the presumption in favour of life imprisonment in s 102 of the Sentencing Act 2002 was not displaced given the circumstances of the offence and of the applicant.
3 August 2022
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A The appeal against sentence is allowed.
B The minimum period of imprisonment of 11 years and six months is quashed and a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 years is substituted.
31 August 2023
- Hearing date 18 November 2022 Appellants submissions (PDF, 478 KB)
- Hearing date 18 November 2022 Respondents submissions (PDF, 501 KB)
- Hearing date 18 November 2022 Intervener Criminal Bar Association submissions (PDF, 445 KB)
- Hearing date 18 November 2022 Intervener Defence Lawyers Association submissions (PDF, 208 KB)
- Hearing date 18 November 2022 Transcript (PDF, 586 KB)
- Hearing date 18 November Van Hemert v The King (PDF, 472 KB)
- MR [2023] NZSC 116 (PDF, 307 KB)