The Disputes Tribunal is a small claims court in New Zealand. It can hear certain civil claims up to a disputed sum of $30,000. [1] Many claims are for relatively small amounts. [2] The Tribunal has offices and holds hearings at locations in major towns and cities throughout the country.
The Tribunal is administered under the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988.
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as "their tribunal". Many governmental bodies are titled "tribunals" to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For instance, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes.
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may be known as a county or magistrate's court. These courts can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Greece, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States.
The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
The High Court of New Zealand is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration of justice throughout New Zealand. There are 18 High Court locations throughout New Zealand, plus one stand-alone registry.
An arbitration award is a final determination on the jurisdiction, merits, costs or other aspect of a dispute by an arbitration tribunal in an arbitration, and is analogous to a judgment in a court of law. It is referred to as an 'award' even where all of the claimant's claims fail, or the award is of a non-monetary nature.
Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitration award'. An arbitration award is legally binding on both sides and enforceable in local courts, unless all parties stipulate that the arbitration process and decision are non-binding.
The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 gave the Treaty of Waitangi recognition in New Zealand law for the first time and established the Waitangi Tribunal. The tribunal was empowered to investigate possible breaches of the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by the New Zealand Government or any state-controlled body, occurring after 1975. It was also empowered to recommend, but not enforce, remedies.
The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales was a tribunal that specialises in resolving consumer disputes in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction in respect of certain consumer claims with the normal civil courts of New South Wales. In other areas of consumer law, it has exclusive jurisdiction. It was created on 25 February 2002 and ceased to function on 31 December 2013, its function assumed by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
The Environment Court of New Zealand is a specialist court for plans, resource consents and environmental issues. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Resource Management Act, meaning that it covers a wide range of potential future effects of planning applications, which can include such areas as traffic congestion, noise/pollution emissions and social and commercial consequences, rather than just the 'ecological' aspects that could be implied by the 'environmental' term.
The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous rights movement in New Zealand. While there was a range of conflicts between Māori and European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing provided one reason for protesting. Disagreements in the decades following the signing sometimes included war.
The Ministry of Justice is an executive department of the New Zealand Government, responsible for supporting the judiciary and the administration of justice within New Zealand. It develops justice policy and provides advice to ministers, Cabinet, and other justice sector agencies. Its main functions are to help reduce crime and build safer communities; increase trust in the justice system; and maintain the integrity of New Zealand's constitutional arrangements.
The law of New Zealand uses the English common law system, inherited from being a part of the British Empire.
The District Court of New Zealand is the primary court of first instance of New Zealand. There are 59 District Court locations throughout New Zealand. The court hears civil claims of up to $350,000 and most criminal cases. It is governed by the District Court Act 2016, which replaced the earlier District Courts Act 1947 as well as the District Court Rules which are periodically revised by the Rules Committee.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
The judiciary of New Zealand is responsible for the system of courts that interprets and applies the laws of New Zealand. It has four primary functions: to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution; to deliver authoritative rulings on the meaning and application of legislation; to develop case law; and to uphold the rule of law, personal liberty and human rights. The judiciary is supported in its work by an executive department, the Ministry of Justice.
NZI Insurance New Zealand Ltd v Auckland District Court [1993] 3 NZLR 453, is a New Zealand case that addresses cases decided in the disputes tribunals, and whether the resulting decisions are later appealable due to the referee making an error of law.
The Disputes Tribunals Act is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 1988.
The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) is Canada's first online tribunal, located in British Columbia (BC), Canada created under a Provincial statute. It is one of the first examples in the world of online dispute resolution (ODR) being incorporated into the public justice system.
The King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts.