Senior Courts Act 2016

Rules of court and miscellaneous provisions - Striking out or otherwise dealing with plainly abusive civil proceeding

164A: Registrar may refer plainly abusive civil proceeding to Judge

You could also call this:

"Court can stop cases that waste its time"

If you try to file a court case that is clearly an abuse of the court system, the Registrar might send it to a Judge. The Registrar can do this if they think the case is an abuse of the court system when they first look at it. You can read more about what the Judge can do in section 164B. If the Registrar accepts the case, they can send it to a Judge to decide what to do next. The Registrar will not do anything else with the case until the Judge makes a decision. The Judge will look at the case to see if any orders or directions are needed. The Registrar has the power to stop the case from going any further until the Judge has made a decision. This is to make sure the court system is not being abused. You can find out more about how the court system works and what the Judge can do in certain situations.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1569812.

This page was last updated on 9 February 2026 — View changes

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164B: Judge’s powers to make orders and give directions in respect of plainly abusive civil proceeding, or

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Part 6Rules of court and miscellaneous provisions
Striking out or otherwise dealing with plainly abusive civil proceeding

164ARegistrar may refer plainly abusive civil proceeding to Judge

This section applies if—
a civil proceeding is tendered for filing in the High Court, Court of Appeal, or Supreme Court; and
the Registrar of the court in which the proceeding is tendered believes that, on the face of the proceeding, the proceeding is plainly an abuse of the process of the court.

If the Registrar accepts the proceeding for filing, the Registrar may,—
as soon as practicable after accepting the proceeding for filing, refer it to a Judge of the court in which the proceeding was filed for consideration as to whether any orders or directions should be made or given under section 164B; and
until the Judge has considered the proceeding under that section, decline to take any further actions in relation to the proceeding.

Notes

Section 164A: inserted, on 1 February 2026, by section 7 of the Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 85).