New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
law covering
family court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
s, which have jurisdiction over
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
,
civil unions
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
,
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
,
custody of children
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
,
child support
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...
and
wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
. Family courts are a division of the District Court and also operate under the District Courts Act 1947. Family courts were among the first in New Zealand to focus on informality; neither judges nor lawyers may wear
wigs
A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...
and gowns are banned for lawyers and optional for judges.
The Act is notable for Section 11B, which amounts to a default blanket ban on reporting of most of the business of the court when children are involved. Stories that are reported often have details such as the gender of children omitted. A rare instance of detailed on-going coverage was the kidnapping of Jayden Headley, when publishing of the details was encouraged to locate the victim.
Most of the acts the family courts have jurisdiction over have been updated to include same-sex partners. Exceptions are the
Marriage Act 1955
The Marriage Act is an Act of Parliament that was passed in 1955 in New Zealand and is administered by the Ministry of Justice. It repealed the Marriage Act 1908.
Forbidden marriages, those between relatives and relatives in a civil union, are ...
, which is matched by the
Civil Union Act 2004
The Civil Union Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed into law on Thursday 9 December 2004 by a final vote of 65–55 in the New Zealand Parliament.Adoption Act 1955 which currently prevents same-sex couples from adopting. There is currently political pressure to change this.