Choice of Law Bill passes third reading

The Private International Law (Choice of Law in Tort) Bill has passed its Third Reading on Wednesday evening with unanimous support.

Chapman Tripp has supported the Bill from the outset as it makes practical and overdue changes to the conflict of law rules for tort.

The key reform of the Bill is to implement a place-of-the-wrong rule for tort claims for an action committed in another jurisdiction. New Zealand courts must now apply the law of the jurisdiction in which the events constituting the tort occurred, unless it is substantially more appropriate to apply the law of another jurisdiction.

In the Third Reading of the Members' Bill, National MP Sarah Dowie, who sponsored the Bill, noted that it "is both sensible and logical and that it is what you would expect of our judicial system".