with the concurrence of the Right Honourable the Chief Justice and at least 2 other members of the Rules Committee continued under section 155 of that Act (of whom at least 1 was a Judge of the High Court).

1	Title
2	Commencement
3	Principal rules
4	New rule 5A inserted (Registrar’s powers)
	5A	Registrar’s powers
5	Rule 36 amended (Written submissions on appeals)
6	Schedule 1 amended
	Schedule Forms 1 and 2 replaced
	Explanatory note
	Administrative Information

Rules

1 Title

These rules are the Supreme Court Amendment Rules 2024.

2 Commencement

These rules come into force on 1 September 2024.

3 Principal rules

These rules amend the Supreme Court Rules 2004.

4 New rule 5A inserted (Registrar’s powers)

After rule 5, insert:

5A Registrar’s powers

(1)

The Registrar may, unless otherwise directed by a Judge,—

(a)

exercise any power given to the Registrar by these rules, an Act, or regulations:

(b)

decline to accept a document for filing—

(i)

that contains plainly abusive material unless that material is removed:

(ii)

if the Court lacks jurisdiction in the matter to which the document relates:

(c)

extend the time for complying with any rule, direction, or order of the Court—

(i)

by consent; or

(ii)

by up to 5 working days in any other case.

(2)

The Registrar’s power under subclause (1)(c)—

(a)

may be exercised before the time for complying with the rule, direction, or order ends or after that time has ended; and

(b)

is in addition to any express power to extend time under these rules.

(3)

A Judge may—

(a)

review the Registrar’s exercise of any power, on an informal application made by a person affected within 20 working days after the date of the Registrar’s decision; and

(b)

confirm, modify, or revoke that decision.

5 Rule 36 amended (Written submissions on appeals)

(1)

Replace rule 36(1) and (2) with:

(1)

Each party to an appeal must file in the Registry the party’s written submissions, which must be contained in a document that has a table of contents and sets out—

(a)

a summary of the argument; and

(b)

a narrative of facts relevant to the issues on appeal; and

(c)

the party’s submissions; and

(d)

the relief sought (and any costs order sought by the party).

(2)

The document referred to in subclause (1) containing a party’s written submissions must be of no more than 30 pages, excluding the table of contents.

(2AAA)

A party’s written submissions must be accompanied by—

(a)

a list of the authorities to be cited by the party; and

(b)

a chronology.

(2)

Replace rule 36(2B) with:

(2B)

If counsel are unable to agree on the chronology, the chronology in the respondent’s written submissions must be a marked-up copy of the appellant’s chronology that highlights areas of disagreement.

6 Schedule 1 amended

In Schedule 1, replace forms 1 and 2 with the forms 1 and 2 set out in the Schedule of these rules.

Schedule Forms 1 and 2 replaced

r 6

Form 1 Notice of application for leave to bring civil appeal

r 12

In the Supreme Court of New Zealand I Te Kōti Mana Nui o Aotearoa

Between [name]

(applicant)

And [name]

(respondent)

To the Registrar of the Supreme Court

I, [full name], give you notice that I apply for the leave of the Supreme Court to appeal to the Court against the following decision:

Case name:

Court that made the decision:

No: [for example: [2024] NZCA 123]

Date of decision:

1

The specific grounds of my proposed appeal are: [state grounds].*

*Rule 15(2) requires that if the appeal relates only to part of a decision, that part must be identified.

2

It is necessary in the interests of justice for the Supreme Court to hear and determine my proposed appeal because [state the reason identifying the ground in section 74(2) of the Senior Courts Act 2016 relied on].

3

The judgment I seek from the Supreme Court is: [specify].

Include the following paragraph if the decision you wish to appeal against was not made by the Court of Appeal.

4

The application for leave to appeal is made directly to this Court against a decision of a court other than the Court of Appeal. The exceptional circumstances that justify taking the proposed appeal directly to this Court are: [specify].*

*See section 75 of the Senior Courts Act 2016.

Include the following paragraph if your application is outside the filing deadline.

5

This application is filed outside the filing period. The Court should extend the time for filing and considering my application because: [state reasons].*

* Rule 11 states that if the enactment under which your application for leave to appeal is brought states a time for filing the application, that time applies. Otherwise, you have 20 working days from the date of the decision you wish to appeal to file your application for leave. If you are the respondent and you also want to apply for leave to appeal, the time for filing your application under rule 11 is 15 working days after the applicant’s application is served on you. The Court may extend the time to file an application for either party.

Your attention is drawn to rule 16, which requires you to provide a copy of the decision appealed against and every other relevant decision given in the proceeding.

Dated this [day/month/year].

Signature:

(applicant or applicant’s lawyer)

Address for service:

Note

Section 74 of the Senior Courts Act 2016 provides as follows:

74	Criteria for leave to appeal
(1)	The Supreme Court must not give leave to appeal to it unless it is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of justice for the court to hear and determine the appeal.
(2)	It is necessary in the interests of justice for the Supreme Court to hear and determine a proposed appeal if— (a) the appeal involves a matter of general or public importance; or (b) a substantial miscarriage of justice may have occurred, or may occur unless the appeal is heard; or (c) the appeal involves a matter of general commercial significance.
(3)	For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), a significant issue relating to the Treaty of Waitangi is a matter of general or public importance.
(4)	The Supreme Court must not give leave to appeal to it against an order made by the Court of Appeal on an interlocutory application unless satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of justice for the Supreme Court to hear and determine the proposed appeal before the proceeding concerned is concluded.
(5)	Subsection (2) does not limit the generality of subsection (1) and subsection (3) does not limit the generality of subsection (2)(a).

Form 2 Notice of application for leave to bring criminal appeal

r 12

In the Supreme Court of New Zealand I Te Kōti Mana Nui o Aotearoa

Between [name]

(applicant)

And [name]

(respondent)

To the Registrar of the Supreme Court

I, [full name], give you notice that I apply for the leave of the Supreme Court to appeal to the Court against the following decision:

Case name:

Court that made the decision:

No: [for example: [2024] NZCA 123]

Date of decision:

1

The specific grounds of my proposed appeal are: [state grounds].*

*Rule 15(2) requires that if the appeal relates only to part of a decision, that part must be identified. If your proposed appeal is an appeal against conviction, an appeal against sentence, or an appeal against both conviction and sentence, state clearly which of these your proposed appeal is.

2

3

The judgment I seek from the Supreme Court is: [specify].

Include the following paragraph if the decision you wish to appeal against was not made by the Court of Appeal.

4

*See section 75 of the Senior Courts Act 2016.

Include the following paragraph if your application is outside the filing deadline.

5

This application is filed outside the filing period. The Court should extend the time for filing and considering my application because: [state reasons].*

*Rule 11 states that if the enactment under which your application for leave to appeal is brought states a time for filing the application, that time applies. Otherwise, you have 20 working days from the date of the decision you wish to appeal to file your application for leave. If you are the respondent and you also want to apply for leave to appeal, the time for filing your application under rule 11 is 15 working days after the applicant’s application is served on you. The Court may extend the time to file an application for either party.

Include the following paragraphs if you are the defendant or person convicted.

Is any lawyer now acting for you? [yes/no]

If a lawyer is acting for you,—

state their name and address and electronic address, if any (such as an email address):
have you applied, or do you intend to apply, to the Legal Services Commissioner for a grant of legal aid? [yes/no]

If you are currently in a prison, state which one:

If you do not currently have a lawyer, state your current postal address and electronic address, if any (such as an email address):

Dated this [day/month/year].

Signature:

(applicant or applicant’s lawyer)

Address for service:

Note

Section 74 of the Senior Courts Act 2016 provides as follows:

74	Criteria for leave to appeal
(1)	The Supreme Court must not give leave to appeal to it unless it is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of justice for the court to hear and determine the appeal.
(2)	It is necessary in the interests of justice for the Supreme Court to hear and determine a proposed appeal if— (a) the appeal involves a matter of general or public importance; or (b) a substantial miscarriage of justice may have occurred, or may occur unless the appeal is heard; or (c) the appeal involves a matter of general commercial significance.
(3)	For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), a significant issue relating to the Treaty of Waitangi is a matter of general or public importance.
(4)	The Supreme Court must not give leave to appeal to it against an order made by the Court of Appeal on an interlocutory application unless satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of justice for the Supreme Court to hear and determine the proposed appeal before the proceeding concerned is concluded.
(5)	Subsection (2) does not limit the generality of subsection (1) and subsection (3) does not limit the generality of subsection (2)(a).

Rachel Hayward,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the rules but is intended to indicate their general effect.

These rules, which amend the Supreme Court Rules 2004 (the principal rules), come into force on 1 September 2024.

New rule 5A is inserted into the principal rules to extend the powers of the Registrar of the Supreme Court (the Registrar) to—

decline to accept a document for filing on the grounds that the document contains plainly abusive material or concerns a matter in respect of which the Supreme Court of New Zealand (the Court) lacks jurisdiction:
extend the time within which a person is required to comply with a rule, direction, or order of the Court.

A Judge may review the Registrar’s exercise of those extended powers on an application made by a person affected by the Registrar’s decision and the Judge may confirm, modify, or revoke the decision.

Rule 36 of the principal rules is amended to require the parties to an appeal to include in their document of written submissions a table of contents and to set out in the document the relief sought (including any costs order sought). The page limit for the document remains 30 pages but excludes the table of contents. The list of authorities to be cited by a party is now to be a separate document and is to accompany a party’s document of written submissions together with a chronology. There is no page limit for a party’s list of authorities or chronology.

Schedule 1 of the principal rules is amended to replace forms 1 and 2. There is no change in substance to these forms but the new forms are presented in a format that is easier to follow and identifies more clearly the decision being appealed.

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2019.

Date of notification in Gazette: 1 August 2024.

These rules are administered by the Ministry of Justice.

Supreme Court Amendment Rules 2024