Should judges stick to applying the law, or should they reshape it to reflect society’s values? This fundamental tension over judicial power was laid bare at a New Zealand Law Society webinar this month about what it takes to become a High Court judge. Read more

Some Australian scandals never get the New Zealand coverage they deserve — which is a shame, as they can tell us much about our neighbours. Qantas’s Chairman’s Lounge debacle is a case in point. Read more

Imagine trying to take instructions from a deceased client, or entering into a contract with your great-great-grandparents. According to our Supreme Court's latest decision, these absurdities might not be far-fetched. Read more

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nikora v Kruger [2024] NZSC 130 has conjured up a revolutionary new principle of property law. According to our highest court, land can be beneficially owned by the dead. Read more

Jordan Peterson’s latest message to his followers is a masterclass in rhetorical sleight of hand. Peterson delivered a keynote address at last week’s ARC conference in Sydney, which was also broadcast on Sky News Australia. Read more

My recent column, “Parliament should rein in our runaway Supreme Court,” sounded the alarm on a troubling trend. Our highest court is overstepping its bounds, reshaping laws in ways that challenge Parliament’s authority. Read more

Picture a country where unelected judges, not elected politicians, make the laws. Where courts rewrite statutes they do not like and reshape long-standing legal rules based on their views of ‘society’s changing values.’ Sound far-fetched? Read more

Imagine a game of tug-of-war in which one team steadily gains ground. Now, picture our legal system as a rope, with Parliament on one end and the Supreme Court on the other. Read more

The United States offers a stark warning of the consequences of an activist judiciary. The outsized role of the U.S. Read more