This is a list of the substantive decisions of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. It is organised in order of the date the case was handed down.
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will receive all or some of the punitive damages in award.
In law, standing or locus standi is a condition that a party seeking a legal remedy must show they have, by demonstrating to the court, sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case. A party has standing in the following situations:
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London. It was created with the passing of the Supreme Court Act 2003, on 15 October 2003. At the time, the creation of the Supreme Court and the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council were controversial constitutional changes in New Zealand. The Supreme Court Act 2003 was repealed on 1 March 2017 and superseded by the Senior Courts Act 2016.
McKesson Corporation is a publicly-traded American company that distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, medical supplies, and health management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceutical products used or consumed in North America and employs over 51,000 employees. With $308.9 billion in 2024 revenue, it is the ninth-largest company by revenue in the United States and the nation's largest health care company. The company is headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a member of the S&P 500 and New York Stock Exchange, where it is traded under the ticker symbol NYSE: MCK.
David William Parker is a New Zealand lawyer, businessman and politician who has been a Labour Party Member of Parliament since 2002.
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.
The New Zealand Refugee Status Appeals Authority or RSAA, was an independent authority that heard the appeals of people who had been declined refugee status by the Refugee Status Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service. It was established in 1991, and was replaced by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in 2010. New Zealand established the RSAA as part of its responsibility to uphold the right of asylum as a result of being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol. The decisions of the RSAA are not binding, but have had a significant impact on refugee jurisprudence.
The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is a statute of the Parliament of New Zealand part of New Zealand's uncodified constitution that sets out the rights and fundamental freedoms of anyone subject to New Zealand law as a bill of rights, and imposes a legal requirement on the attorney-general to provide a report to parliament whenever a bill is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights.
John Stewart Hobhouse, Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough, PC was a British barrister and judge who served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1998 to 2004.
The law of New Zealand uses the English common law system, inherited from being a part of the British Empire.
Sir Noel Crossley Anderson was a New Zealand judge who was President of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand from 2004 to 2006, before being elevated to the Supreme Court. He left office in 2008.
Threshold issues are legal requirements in Singapore administrative law that must be satisfied by applicants before their claims for judicial review of acts or decisions of public authorities can be dealt with by the High Court. These include showing that they have standing to bring cases, and that the matters are amenable to judicial review and justiciable by the Court.
Chamberlains v Lai [2006] NZSC 70, is an important case which lifted "barristerial immunity" in New Zealand as a defence to negligence claims against barristers for their actions in both civil and criminal proceedings, which had been a feature of New Zealand since the early 1970s.
Antony "Tony" Shaw is a barrister of the High Court of New Zealand, and a former lecturer of law at Victoria University. He holds an LLB and BA from Auckland University. His practice covers civil and criminal matters. He is regarded as an expert on human rights law. Shaw has appeared widely in the District and High Courts of New Zealand including successful appeals to the Court of Appeal, Privy Council and the New Zealand Supreme Court. Shaw has also appeared in the Employment Court of New Zealand and regularly appears before the New Zealand Parole Board.
Zaoui v Attorney-General was the final judicial decision concerning Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui before the objections of the Security Intelligence Service concerning Zaoui's alleged threat to national security were withdrawn in September 2007, allowing him to remain in New Zealand. The judgment of the Supreme Court of New Zealand was concerned with the proper interpretation of article 33 of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and section 72 of the Immigration Act 1987.
Taunoa v Attorney-General was a case in the Supreme Court of New Zealand concerning breaches of prisoners' Bill of Rights protected rights by the Department of Corrections in the Behaviour Management Regime programme at Auckland Prison between 1998 and 2004.
Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corp Ltd [1986] NZPC 1; [1986] UKPC 45; [1987] AC 155; [1986] 2 NZLR 513; [1987] 2 WLR 24; (1986) 10 TRNZ 161 is a prominent case in New Zealand tax law regarding the issue of tax avoidance.
Article I, § 10, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Import-Export Clause, prevents the states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws and secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports. Several nineteenth century Supreme Court cases applied this clause to duties and imposts on interstate imports and exports. In 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Import-Export Clause only applied to imports and exports with foreign nations and did not apply to imports and exports with other states, although this interpretation has been questioned by modern legal scholars.
Sir John Stephen Kós is a New Zealand judge on the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the former President of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand.