🇳🇿 New Zealand - Criminal Law - 12 plans
New Zealand criminal law is governed by the Crimes Act 1961, which defines the principal criminal offences and penalties, and the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, which modernised criminal procedure by establishing four categories of offences based on maximum penalty. The Evidence Act 2006 provides a comprehensive code for the admissibility of evidence, while the Sentencing Act 2002 sets out sentencing principles and the range of available sentences.
Our New Zealand criminal law matter plans cover summary and indictable proceedings in the District Court, jury trials in the High Court, bail applications under the Bail Act 2000, sentencing hearings, and appeals. Plans incorporate the four offence categories established by the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and the five procedural stages of criminal proceedings - administration, case review, trial, sentencing, and appeal.
New Zealand's principal criminal statute defining a wide range of indictable offences (crimes) including homicide, assault, sexual offences, theft, fraud, and drug offences. Also codifies legal defences and rules regarding criminal responsibility.
Overhauled criminal procedure in New Zealand by establishing four categories of offences based on maximum penalty, which determines whether a matter is heard by a judge alone or a jury. Provides for five procedural stages: administration, case review, trial, sentencing, and appeal.
Provides a comprehensive and consistent set of rules governing the admissibility and use of evidence in New Zealand courts. Covers relevance, hearsay, opinion evidence, identification evidence, and the right to silence.
Sets out the purposes and principles of sentencing, including accountability, deterrence, rehabilitation, and community protection. Governs the use of pre-sentence reports, victim impact statements, and the range of sentencing options available to judges.
National
Handles the majority of criminal proceedings in New Zealand, including summary offences, judge-alone trials for category 1 and 2 offences, and jury trials for category 3 offences. Also handles bail applications and sentencing.
National
Hears the most serious criminal matters (category 4 offences) including murder, manslaughter, and serious drug offences. Also hears appeals from the District Court on criminal matters.
National
Hears appeals from the High Court on criminal matters, including appeals against conviction and sentence. Leave to appeal is required for some matters.
Every criminal law matter plan on this page has been created and refined by verified legal practitioners. Our community-driven approach means plans reflect real-world practice, not theoretical frameworks.
Suggest improvements, flag outdated procedures, or contribute entirely new plans. All suggestions are peer-reviewed and voted on by the community before being incorporated.
New Zealand criminal law practitioners can access 12 free criminal law matter plans, including 8 specialist derivative plans on the Open Matter Plans Network. Each plan is a structured checklist covering every stage of a criminal law matter - from initial instructions through to completion - with estimated time units, key dates, and role assignments built in. Use them directly in your browser or export to CSV for your practice management system.
All plans are maintained by verified legal practitioners, version-controlled, and aligned to the SALI Alliance Legal Matter Standard Specification - making them compatible with legal AI workflows and direct PMS integration via the JSON API.
When a practice-management system opens a matter at this level, these are the canonical fields it receives - resolved through the field-set hierarchy (base → area of law → geography → plan). Fields added at this levelare shown below, with inherited tiers beneath; each set's page has the full resolved table. How this works.
matter.fieldValues.offence_categoryselectmatter.fieldValues.court_registrytextmatter.fieldValues.trial_electionselectmatter.fieldValues.case_review_hearing_datedatematter.fieldValues.trial_callover_datedate7 more fields at this level - view the full set (free sign-in).
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