Criminal Law in Aotearoa New Zealand

Criminal Law in Aotearoa New Zealand is a textbook that sets out and discusses fundamental principles of criminal law, a selection of criminal offences and defences, and the law governing who can be held liable when an offence is committed.

Importantly this text locates legal doctrine in the context of the constitutional foundations of the criminal justice system in contemporary Aotearoa, including the collision of two ancient and very different traditions of justice tikanga Māori and the English common law. After acknowledging the limitations of state law as a vehicle for tikanga and therefore the transformational change that will be required to give expression to Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for Māori, the book distils the basic legality principles that should guide the common law development of criminal doctrine in Aotearoa New Zealand going forward. Throughout the book questions are asked about the legal doctrine that is discussed these questions are aimed at deepening thought about what the shape of the criminal law should be in the unique context of Aotearoa New Zealand.