A judgment is a transcript of the judge’s decision. Access to court documents may be subject to the payment of a fee.
Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court
If you have been in court, you should ensure that the court taker has your correct contact details as the court may email a copy of the decision to you directly.
Some District Court decisions are available online at www.districtcourts.govt.nz(external link) from August 2016. Where there are statutory reporting prohibitions or suppression orders, such as in most Youth Court and Family Court proceedings, the website will use different names or initials and remove all identifying information.
About 4000 decisions a year are published. Because of the volume of cases in the District Courts, not all decisions can be published.
For decisions that are not published online, you will need to apply in writing to the court, giving specific information such as:
your name and contact details
the name of the defendant/parties
details of the charge (if it is a criminal matter)
the name of the judge
the date the judgment was given.
If the judgment is not available at that time, your request will be referred to the registrar and then to the judge who delivered the judgment.
If the request cannot be met, you will be advised of the reasons.