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This recent publication funded by the Law Foundation sets out the law through which Aotearoa New Zealand responded to Covid-19 in 2020 through to mid-2021.

The book outlines the legal frameworks that were in place before the pandemic arrived, the way the legal powers set out in these frameworks were used from January 2020 onwards, and how new law was developed. The chapters follow a timeline of pivotal moments of Covid in New Zealand, from keeping it out, to lockdown, to resurgence, working towards a “new normal”, to the marathon taking us through to June 2021. It responds to the question: ‘what happened?’ in terms of the law. Meticulously researched and expertly written, author Louise Delany combines legislative and case law analysis with the human element of the pandemic, via interviews with key persons involved in the covid response. This text is a snapshot of how Covid unfolded in Aotearoa, a resource not only for lawyers and academics but all interested in legal perspectives on New Zealand’s Covid-related history and themes through 2020 and 2021.

The book is published by Thomson Reuters in e-Book and hard copy and is available via this link.

The Law Foundation provided $56,205 for this research.