Supreme Court of New Zealand

A visit to the highest courts in the land.

The Supreme and High Courts of New Zealand.

The court buildings are very impressive. Historic heritage buildings and modern design and architecture have been well combined.

The Supreme and High Courts of New Zealand.

Part of the New Supreme Court building has an oval shape and has been designed to emulate the form and texture of the cone of the Kauri Tree!

The Supreme and High Courts of New Zealand.

The exterior bronze screen on the the new Supreme Court is 8m high and is made up of 88 panels. Wherever possible recycled materials have been used in construction and restoring of these buildings.

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand.

Activity 1:

What do you already know about the legal system in NZ?Using your Before and After Web, write down what you already know about the law and the legal system in New Zealand.

Get as much down as you can. There is no right or wrong here.

Share your ideas with a buddy when you are finished. Were any of your points the same as your buddies?

(We will revisit this activity at the end of this unit of learning.)

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. Answer each of the questions below on a Post It.

Add your Post It to the appropriate sheet.

You may work with a buddy if you wish.

Have a read of other people’s thoughts

What is a law?

Why do we have laws?

Who makes the laws?

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. What is a law?

A law is an agreed upon rule that a country or community puts in place to regulate (keep in check) the actions of its members.

A law is a rule that defines correct procedure or behaviour.

Why do we have laws?

Laws are necessary for people to live in harmony with one another.

Laws prevent or deter people from behaving in a manner that negatively affects the quality of life of other people.

Laws allow us to enforce rights and help to solve conflicts.

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. Who makes the laws?

There are two main types of law

Statutes - These are laws passed by Parliament eg.the Animal Welfare Act regulates how animals can be treated.

and;

Common Law - Common law is law developed by judges over the centuries. eg privacy issues with paparazzi.

Laws change over time as social views change eg anti smacking and women’s right to vote.

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. What are the consequences of breaking the law?

Activity - With a different learning buddy.

In your Integrated Learning books……..

Brainstorm some laws that you know.

Why are these laws important.

What are the consequences of breaking these laws.

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. What are the consequences of breaking the law?

Everybody in New Zealand is accountable to the laws of our country.

Nobody is ‘above the law’

Breaking different laws will have different consequences.

Laws are applied by the Court System.

The courts apply the law in an impartial and fair way.

NEXT TIME……..What does our court system look like in NEW ZEALAND?

Session 1: The Legal System in New Zealand. What wonderings do you have after that session?

What questions would you like answered.

Record your wonderings in this document.

It’s ok to have the same questions as others.

Also add your wonderings/ questions to the Wonderings pages.

Please put your name next to your question.

You must add something.

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. What is the role of the court system in New Zealand?

Courts play a special role in New Zealand’s legal system.

Click on the link below to read all about the role of courts and judges.

What do you understand the role of judges and the courts to be?

The courts apply the law in an impartial and fair way.

What do you think this means? Why is this important.

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. The Structure of the Court System in New Zealand.

There are different levels of courts in New Zealand.

Each different level deals with different issues.

Click on these links to learn about the different courts in NZ.

1. structure of the court system

2. The Structure of New Zealand’s Courts

3. Expert information on the structure of the court system.

Using this information, draw a simple pyramid diagram to show the structure of the courts in New Zealand.

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. The hierarchy of the courts in New Zealand.

Supreme Court

Court of Appeal

High Court

District Court

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. Each of the courts serves a different function.

Most court business takes place in District courts.

Cases where the amount in issue is more than $200000 or in serious criminal offences eg murder go to the High Court.

If any of the people involved in a court case are unhappy about the decision made by the court, they can appeal the court’s decision. This means they ask for it to be tested/ heard again.

The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are used if this needs to happen.

These two courts are only used for a small percentage of cases. Lundy example.

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. In Wellington we will get to go inside the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Take a look inside the HIGH COURT here.

Discussion on all of these roles.

There is no jury in the Supreme Court.

Session 2: The Legal System in New Zealand. What wonderings do you have after that session?

What questions would you like answered.

Record your wonderings in your Google Doc and also add your wonderings/ questions to the Wonderings pages.

Please put your name next to your question.

You must add something.

Session 3: The Legal System in New Zealand. So far we have learned…….

What a law is.

Why we have laws.

Who makes the laws.

There are different consequences for breaking different laws.

The role that courts and judges play in the legal system.

There is a hierarchy of courts in New Zealand.

Different cases will be heard in different courts.

There are lots of different people involved in a court trial.

Session 3: The Legal System in New Zealand. Time to have some fun.

My learned friends…..I would like to introduce you to our mock trial.

The case of B.B. Wolf vs Curly Pig

Session 3: The Legal System in New Zealand. For our trial we need some volunteers.

A Judge - the person in charge of the court.

A prosecution lawyer ( trying to prove the defendant is guilty)

A defence lawyer ( represents the person charged with the offence)

A defendant ( the person charged with the offence) - Pig

A Plaintiff ( the victim) - Wolf

A witness ( gives evidence for either defendant or plaintiff)

A Jury Foreperson ( leads the jury)

11 Jurors ( make up the jury and decide guilty or not guilty)

Registrar - makes sure court process is followed.

Members of the public - sit in the gallery to watch.

Session 3: The Legal System in New Zealand. Want to know more?

There is heaps of info on the internet. Some of it is hard to understand as there is a lot of jargon with the law.

You may find these sites useful.

Civics Education New Zealand’s Court System.

Courts of New Zealand

Session 3: The Legal System in New Zealand. Revisit your Before and After Web.

Have a look at what you wrote down at the start of this unit of learning.

Write down what you now in the outside section of your Before and After Web.

Are you surprised how much more you know now?