Recommended text (as bundle) LAWS 101 all year, 2026
The foundation of legal study in Aotearoa New Zealand is an understanding of our legal systems and sources of law, and legal method – how the law is made and applied. Aotearoa New Zealand Law: Foundations and Method (3rd edition) is a resource that will prepare students in their first year of law with the skills and understanding to guide them through legal study and into a successful career.
The book is separated into 8 parts and contains 27 chapters which introduce and develop the concepts covered in first-year courses on the legal system, including legal foundations and legal method. The legal foundations topics include introductions to: tikanga Maori and its relationship with state law; intersections between the common and civil law systems, public and private law, and international law; the constitution and our structure of government; and jurisprudence and legal theory. The legal method topics include: case law, judicial reasoning and the doctrine of precedent; statute law and statutory interpretation; the interaction between case law and statute law; and legal language and writing.
The book is an essential learning tool for students who need to master the skills required for all courses in legal method taught at tertiary level in New Zealand. It introduces students to the fundamental concepts of legal method, and then, step by step, teaches them to work with these concepts in a practical way. It starts out with an account of the general principles of the common law system and then provides a chapter by chapter account of: (i) how to understand and interpret substantive law (ie, case law and statute law), (ii) the way in which case law is built into a body of law, and (iii) how to acquire and apply the skills of case analysis, statutory interpretation, and reasoning by analogy.
The new edition extensively expands on tikanga as a source of New Zealand law. It also incorporates case law and legislative developments since the previous edition was published in 2016.
ISBN: 9771177025547
Publication date: 10/04/2025
Price: $213.48
RRP: $237.00
Format: Paperback
Available stock: 2
Publishing status: Active
Author: Scragg, Richard/Penk, Stephen
Imprint: Thomson Pacific (NZ)
