Extract:

Here at home, lawyers have a fundamental obligation to uphold the rule of law. This reflects both its central importance in our legal system, and that lawyers are particularly well placed to identify when the rule of law is under challenge.

The Law Society also has a statutory function “to assist and promote, for the purpose of upholding the rule of law and facilitating the administration of justice in New Zealand, the reform of the law”.

With this in mind, in 2024 the Law Society went out to the legal profession, seeking to understand how lawyers conceive of the rule of law, and what they identify as the most significant challenges to the rule of law in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This report is the result of those conversations. It outlines some of the main challenges as identified by lawyers, supplemented by the Law Society’s observations and submissions over the years, as well as the work of academics, judges, lawyers, and other organisations. It is my hope that it will spark both conversation and commitment. 

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