New Zealand
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- Parliamentary democracy - constitutional monarchy of the Commonwealth
- CONSTITUTION
- consists of a series of legal documents, including acts of the United Kingdom and the New Zealand Parliament and the Constitution Act of 1986, which is the first formal charter. Effective from January 1, 1987
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English law, with some special territorial laws and territorial courts for the Maori
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, House of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court;
RELIGIONS
14.9% Anglicans, 12.4% Catholics; 10.9% Presbyterians; other Christians
From the country
- JUNE 20, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
The father of murder victim Marcus Doig believes in...
The father of murder victim Marcus Doig believes in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but said bringing back the death sentence will not happen
- MARCH 7, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
An Indonesian militiaman who killed New Zealand soldier...
An Indonesian militiaman who killed New Zealand soldier Leonard Manning in East Timor was jailed for six years
- FEBRUARY 28, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
It takes a fairly momentous event to unite the emotions...
It takes a fairly momentous event to unite the emotions of a disparate nation like New Zealand, but there is little doubt of the universal relief and reassurance that followed the surprise arrest of a suspect 15 years after the horrific murder of six-year
- JANUARY 1, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes...
The death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes in 1961, then fully abolished, and replaced with life imprisonment in 1989
- JANUARY 1, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand has signed the UN Convention Against Torture...
New Zealand has signed the UN Convention Against Torture which upholds not deporting or extraditing people to countries where they would face an abuse of human rights, such as torture, cruel and unusual punishment or the death penalty
- DECEMBER 9, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
Angry members of the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA want...
Angry members of the Mt Wellington-Panmure RSA want murderers to face the death penalty, after three of their friends were killed in their clubhouse
- NOVEMBER 30, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda cited a...
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda cited a prosecution call for the death penalty over the killing of a New Zealand soldier as evidence of his Administration's drive for justice
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand's delegate to the UN Third Committee debate...
New Zealand's delegate to the UN Third Committee debate on human rights abuses, Deborah Geels, speaking on behalf of the South Pacific Group, said New Zealand was particularly concerned about the continued use of the death penalty, and urged those States
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand's Corrections Minister Matt Robson and...
New Zealand's Corrections Minister Matt Robson and Justice Minister Phil Goff raised their concerns about China's use of the death penalty, and its incarceration of political prisoners during a meeting with visiting Chinese Justice Minister Zhang Fusen
- JUNE 28, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
National Radio defended its decision to air chilling...
National Radio defended its decision to air chilling recordings of condemned men being electrocuted in American execution chambers
- APRIL 25, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand was a cosponsor of the resolution on the...
New Zealand was a cosponsor of the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001
- JANUARY 1, 2001New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes...
The death penalty was abolished for ordinary crimes in 1961, then fully abolished, and replaced with life imprisonment in 1989