Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Purpose of this Guide: Use this fork when the harmful digital communication constitutes a criminal offence under section 22 (intent to cause harm) or section 22A (non-consensual sharing of intimate visual recordings) of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. This workflow facilitates a parallel referral to the New Zealand Police and coordinates civil and criminal remedies, including the civil orders a court may make under section 22B during a section 22A prosecution.
| Field | Token | Type | Required | Defined in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matter(4) | ||||
| Matter numberⓘ | ||||
Jurisdiction: NZ Police (criminal investigations) and District Court (criminal division). This fork is activated when a criminal safety threat or intimate recording breach is identified during intake.
The Process at a Glance: The practitioner compiles a secure criminal evidence package and lodges a formal report with the Police cybercrime unit. The Police investigate the offence, arrest the offender, and prosecute the charges. The practitioner supports the prosecution, provides witness statements, and coordinates with Police prosecutors about an application for take-down and related civil orders under section 22B where the charge is under section 22A.
Key Legislation and Case Law: Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 - s 22 (causes harm offence); s 22A (intimate recordings offence); s 22B (civil orders during proceedings for a s 22A offence). Criminal Procedure Act 2011 - s 25 (limitation periods for Category 2 offences).
* Disclaimer: We're nobody's lawyer, because we aren't lawyers. You are, so you know better than to take legal advice from an app. We also aren't accountants or dog trainers - just digital spirit guides taking zero liability for any of this. This site exists to gather the collective knowledge of practitioners like you. Verify everything and submit your feedback on the Civil Remedies under Harmful Digital Communications Act - Parallel Criminal Prosecution Coordination (s 22 / s 22A) matter plan to improve the playbook. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it's a request for input.
This legal matter plan provides a structured workflow for Civil Litigation cases, outlining the standard DISPUTE_LITIGATION process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
matter.matterNumber| text |
| Required |
inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter title | matter.title | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter typeⓘ | matter.matterType | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter status | matter.status | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Client(1) | ||||
| Client name | matter.clientName | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
Got a question about this plan?
Ask in the practitioner Discord - edge cases, rule changes, and jurisdiction-specific nuances, all in one place.
We do not house forms for this jurisdiction yet. Where a task names a form, its link goes to the official source.