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

Case name
Joseph Karaitiana Wheeler v The King
Case number
SC 141/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
27 June 2024
High Court decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Make It 16 Incorporated v Attorney-General
Case number
SC 14/2022
Summary
Civil Appeal
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Make It 16 Inc v Attorney General [2021] NZCA 681).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
13 April 2022
_____________________________________________________
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
Date of hearing
12 July 2022
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France and Kós JJ
Case name
AR (INDIA) v Attorney-General
Case number
SC 15/2022
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
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
Case name
Alan Russell Hall v The Queen
Case number
SC 21/2022
Summary
Criminal Appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
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
_____________________________________________________
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
Date of hearing
08 June 2022
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, O'Regan, Ellen France, Williams and Kós JJ
Transcripts
Media Releases
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Case name
Attorney-General and Chief Executive of Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections v Mark David Chisnall
Case number
SC 26/2022
Summary

Civil Appeal

Result

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
__________________________________
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
__________________________________
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

Date of hearing
03 April 2023 - 04 April 2023
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Williams and Kós JJ
Case Synopses
Media Releases
Leave judgment - leave granted
Case name
Billy Mark Matara v The Queen
Case number
SC 27/2022
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
27 May 2022
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority v Averil Rosemary Norman, Warwick Bruce Norman and Auckland City Council
Case number
SC 30/2022
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the first respondents costs of $2,500.
27 June 2022
Case name
Jason Brendon Philip v The King
Case number
SC 32/2022
Summary
Criminal Appeal
Result
A The appeal against sentence is allowed. The sentence of two years and 11 months’ imprisonment is quashed and a sentence of one year and seven months is substituted.
B The standard conditions under s 14(1) of the Parole Act 2002 apply but expire on the sentence expiry date.
16 December 2022
Date of hearing
08 September 2022
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France and Williams JJ
Case name
Tanya Felicity Dunstan v The Attorney-General
Case number
SC 37/2022
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $500.
21 September 2022
________________________________________
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
Case name
Kaine Van Hemert v The King
Case number
SC 38/2022
Summary
Criminal Appeal
Result
A The applications for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal (R v Van Hemert [2021] NZCA 261) [the Court of Appeal judgment] and the decision of the High Court (R v Van Hemert [2021] NZHC 2877) resentencing Mr Van Hemert [the resentencing judgment] are granted.

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
Date of hearing
18 November 2022
Judges
Glazebrook, O’Regan, Ellen France, Williams and Kós JJ