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Overview

General principles of legislation and the legislative process, the structure of legislation (including delegated and subordinate legislation), judicial review of legislation, statutory interpretation and construction, legislative drafting, codification.

This paper explores contemporary practice and theory on statutory interpretation.

About this paper

Paper title Advanced Legislation
Subject Law
EFTS 0.1
Points 15 points
Teaching period Not offered in 2026 (On campus)
Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) $820.40
International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
Prerequisite
96 LAWS points
Pre or Corequisite
Any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed
Limited to
LLB, LLB(Hons)
Notes
Not all optional papers will be available in any given year.
Contact
law@otago.ac.nz
Teaching staff

Professor Andrew Geddis

Textbooks
Course materials are provided by the Faculty.
Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Scholarship, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
Learning Outcomes

Legislation's status in Aotearoa New Zealand's legal framework has been described as "not just king, but emperor". This course examines legislation from its genesis in policy development through to its application by way of judicial interpretation. It does so by considering:

  • Where legislation comes from (i.e. the process of developing policy)
  • How legislation is drafted (i.e. the transformation of policy into statutory language)
  • The enactment of legislation (i.e. parliamentary law making procedures)
  • The various forms of legislation (i.e. primary and secondary)
  • The application of legislation by the courts by way of interpretation, including:
    • Techniques of statutory interpretation
    • Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi
    • The NZ Bill of Rights Act
    • The impact of international law

Overview

General principles of legislation and the legislative process, the structure of legislation (including delegated and subordinate legislation), judicial review of legislation, statutory interpretation and construction, legislative drafting, codification.

This paper explores contemporary practice and theory on statutory interpretation.

About this paper

Paper title Advanced Legislation
Subject Law
EFTS 0.1125
Points 15 points
Teaching period Not offered in 2027 (On campus)
Domestic Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for 2027 have not yet been set
International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
Prerequisite
96 LAWS points
Pre or Corequisite
Any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed
Limited to
LLB, LLB(Hons)
Notes
Not all optional papers will be available in any given year.
Contact
law@otago.ac.nz
Teaching staff

Professor Andrew Geddis

Textbooks

All course readings for this paper are provided by the Faculty on Aoroa.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Scholarship, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
Learning Outcomes

Legislation's status in Aotearoa New Zealand's legal framework has been described as "not just king, but emperor". This course examines legislation from its genesis in policy development through to its application by way of judicial interpretation. It does so by considering:

  • Where legislation comes from (i.e. the process of developing policy)
  • How legislation is drafted (i.e. the transformation of policy into statutory language)
  • The enactment of legislation (i.e. parliamentary law-making procedures)
  • The various forms of legislation (i.e. primary and secondary)
  • The application of legislation by the courts by way of interpretation, including:
    • Techniques of statutory interpretation
    • Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi
    • The NZ Bill of Rights Act
    • The impact of international law
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