Regulatory stewardship in the Ministry

The Ministry of Justice works with the judiciary, our justice sector colleagues, and communities for a fair and safe Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our country's justice and legal system protects individual rights and freedoms, sets out unacceptable behaviours and penalties for breaking the law, and operates as a check and balance on power exercised by the government. The Ministry is responsible for stewarding regulatory systems that set out some of our most important constitutional foundations, including laws relating to our system of representative democracy, our head of state, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), the structure and independence of the courts, and protections for people against unreasonable or unfair exercising of state power.

In performing our functions and stewarding our systems, the Ministry strives to achieve six goals:

Enduring priorities

Our enduring priorities are the areas that will remain fundamentally important to the Ministry over the long term. These are:

  1. Honouring our responsibilities to Māori
  2. Maintaining the integrity of the courts and tribunals
  3. Providing sector leadership and policy stewardship.

Transformational opportunities

Our transformational opportunities reflect the particular opportunities and challenges we face today and are what will make Aotearoa New Zealand a better place for everyone. These are:

  1. Leading the transformation of the criminal justice system
  2. Addressing family violence and sexual violence
  3. Improving access to justice.

You can learn more about the Ministry and our strategy here:

About us

Our strategy