John McLean: Hey pssst....New Zealand Law Society - You don't represent me

The New Zealand Law Society has enjoyed a fastish start to 2025. It has submitted on two pieces of proposed legislation, the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and a discussion document on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. ACT Party leader David Seymour has promoted each.

This piece focuses on the Law Society’s crap submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. But, make no mistake, its submission on the Regulatory Standards Bill discussion document is also just anti-Seymour ideological claptrap.

Gary Judd KC: Law Society disestablishes Rule of Law Committee

NZLS abolishes Rule of Law Committee, dumps expert advisers

This essay was published in the Auckland District Law Society’s LawNews on 6 August 2023 under the headline “NZLS abolishes Rule of Law Committee, dumps expert advisers.” The New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) supposedly exists to represent lawyers and to serve their interests. As lawyers are subject to the fundamental obligation to uphold the rule of law and facilitate the administration of justice, one might have thought the last thing the Society would do is to deprive itself and the legal profession of the assistance of a group of eminent academic and practising lawyers dedicated to assisting lawyers and the Society with rule of law issues. Yet, that is what has happened. This essay examines the circumstances.

Judicial independence is a critical ingredient of the rule of law. Tom Bingham’s The Rule of Law[1] has a lot to say about it. For example,

Stuart Smith: NZ Law Society and the ToW

Professional bodies have a crucial role in establishing standards of conduct and protecting the reputation of their respective professions. It is expected that their directives remain apolitical and do not infringe upon the freedom of their members to hold their own political views.

However, the recent proposal by the New Zealand Law Society to introduce a new statutory duty for lawyers to adhere to the “principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi” is a highly controversial and a politically motivated move. It appears to be driven by the influence of woke socialists who seek to advance their own agenda, rather than prioritise the best interests of the people they serve.