Human Rights Act 1993

Human Rights Commission - Functions and powers of Commission

6: Powers relating to declaratory judgments

You could also call this:

"The Commission can ask the court to explain what the law means in a certain situation."

The Commission can ask the High Court for a declaratory judgment or order under the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908. You can think of a declaratory judgment as a court decision that says what the law means in a certain situation. The Commission can do this if it thinks it will help the Commission do its job, which is stated in section 5(2)(a). The Commission can still appear in or bring other proceedings under sections like section 92B, section 92E, section 92H, or section 97. The Commission has this power because of the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908, which you can find on the New Zealand legislation website https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM176192.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM304280.

This page was last updated on 13 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

5: Functions of Commission, or

"The Human Rights Commission's main jobs are to promote respect and equality for everyone in New Zealand."

7: Commission determines general nature of activities, or

"The Commission decides what it will do to help with human rights."

Part 1Human Rights Commission
Functions and powers of Commission

6Powers relating to declaratory judgments

If at any time the Commission considers that it may be desirable to obtain a declaratory judgment or order of the High Court in accordance with the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908, the Commission may, despite anything to the contrary in that Act or any other enactment or rule of law, institute proceedings under that Act.
The Commission may exercise the right in subsection (1) only if it considers that the exercise of the right will facilitate the performance of its functions stated in section 5(2)(a).
Subsection (1) does not limit the ability of the Commission to appear in or bring proceedings under section 92B or section 92E or section 92H or section 97.

Compare

1977 No 49 s 5A
1983 No 56 s 3

Notes

Section 6: substituted, on 1 January 2002, by section 5 of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 96).