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Glossary

(to terms used in this paper)

Access order An order allowing a person time with a

child, usually the parent who does not

have custody

Administration The management of money and property

of a person who has died

Administrative Under the Child Support Act 1991 – an

review assessment by the Review Officer

contracted to the Child Support Agency

as to whether a formula assessment should

be changed

Affidavit Written evidence that the writer swears is

true

Affirmation Written evidence that the writer declares

is true

Associated Under the Domestic Violence Act 1995,

respondent a person who has assisted the respondent

in harassing or hurting the applicant

Beneficiary A person who receives money or property

from a trust or under a will

Caseflow The management of applications filed in

management court towards a final hearing, including all

preliminary matters

Chambers hearing An informal hearing before a judge, held

in private

Civil jurisdiction That part of the work of a court which

relates to non-criminal matters

Concurrent Circumstances in which there is a choice

jurisdiction as to the court in which an application can

be filed, that is, both the District Court

and the High Court may have jurisdiction

to hear certain matters

Consent orders Orders where the terms have been agreed

by the parties

Counsel for the child Lawyer appointed by the Family Court to

act for the child

Court decisions Rulings made by a court

Cross-applications Where two parties make applications

against each other, for example, a mother

and a father of the same child both

applying for custody

Custody Under the Guardianship Act 1968, the

right to possession and care of a child

De facto relationship A relationship similar to a marriage which

is not confirmed by a legal ceremony

Decree An order by a court

Defend To respond to or oppose an application

Defended hearing A full hearing where the judge hears all

the evidence of the applicant and their

respondent and any other party

Departure order Under the Child Support Act 1991, an

order which alters the formula assessment

Deponent The person who makes an affidavit

Disclosure Giving information or documents to the

other party that are relevant to the court

proceedings

Estate The money and property of a dead person

Family group Under the Children, Young Persons, and

conference Their Families Act 1989, a meeting of

family members to discuss a child

Final order The ruling of a court which is made to end

the matters raised in an application

Fixture The time set down for the hearing of a

matter by a court

Fono Meeting

Guardianship The rights and responsibilities over the

upbringing of a child, usually exercised by

a parent or another person appointed by a

court as a guardian of a child

Hague Convention There are a number of International

Conventions that were adopted in the

Hague. The common one in the context

of the Family Court is the Hague

Convention on the civil aspects of

International Child Abduction, which was

incorporated into our Guardianship Act

by sections 22A–22K

Hearing The time when a matter is argued before a

judge

Hui Meeting

Inquisitorial A style of hearing where the judge requests

information, asks questions, and exercises

control over the information brought

before the Court

Inspection The viewing of documents relevant to a

case before the Court, which have been

disclosed by the other side

Interim order A temporary order made and enforced

until a final order is made

Iwi Tribal group

Judge’s list A list of matters to be heard by a judge on

a certain day

Judicial conference A meeting chaired by a judge

Jurisdiction The range of matters that can be dealt with

by a particular court

Justice of the Peace A person appointed by the Governor-

General under a warrant who can witness

documents, take oaths and affirmations,

and issue warrants.

Karakia Prayer

Kaumätua Elder

Kawa Protocol

Körero Speech

Legitimacy Lawfulness

Liable parent Under the Child Support Act 1991, the

parent who pays child support

Maintenance order An order by a court that one person

provide financial support for another

Mäoritanga Mäori culture/perspective

Marriage dissolution The order ending a marriage – a divorce

Judge-led mediation A meeting where the judge acts as

mediator to attempt to resolve a dispute

Memorandum of A document setting out matters that need

issues to be resolved

Mihi Welcome

MP1 affidavit Under the Matrimonial Property Act 1976

– an affidavit of assets and liabilities

Narrative affidavit An affidavit setting out the background

to a matter

Non-molestation Under the Domestic Protection Act 1982,

order an order forbidding harassment of the

applicant

Non-violence order Under the Domestic Protection Act 1982,

an order forbidding violence against the

applicant

Notice of intention A notice to the Court that a person has

to appear an interest in a matter but does not wish

to oppose or defend it

On-notice An application where the respondent is

application given notice of the hearing and no order

is made until the respondent has received

the application and been given the

opportunity to reply

Party A person who is joined into a court action

Paternity order An order that establishes the father of a

child

Personal A person who stands in for, and conducts

representative the affairs of, a person who has died

Plan Under the Children, Young Persons, and

Their Families Act 1989, a statement

prepared by a social worker setting out

what is to happen for a particular child

Practice note A note, usually about a procedural matter,

published by judges, requiring matters to

be dealt with in a certain way

Preliminary hearing A hearing about a matter that needs to be

decided before the main issue is decided

Pre-trial conference A conference with a judge to discuss how

matters are to proceed at a hearing

Privileged document A document (or information) which must

(or information) be kept confidential and cannot therefore

be disclosed in court

Qualifying custodian Under the Child Support Act 1991, the

person to whom child support is paid

Ready list A list of the matters which are ready to be

set down for a hearing time

Registrar’s list A list of matters to be heard by a registrar

on a certain day

Respondent The person who opposes or responds to an

application filed in the court

Restraining order An order by the court preventing a person

from doing certain specified things. Under

the Matrimonial Property Act 1976 it may

relate to disposing of certain property.

Under the Children, Young Persons, and

Their Families Act 1989, it may prevent a

person contacting a child

Revocation of order Cancellation or retraction of an order that

has previously been made

Rules Procedures that persons approaching the

Court are to follow

Service Delivery of Court documents to a party to

the Court proceeding

Services order Under the Children, Young Persons, and

Their Families Act 1989, an order that

certain social work services or other

services will be provided to a child or a

family

Setting down Deciding the date on which a matter will

have a hearing

Settlement Finalising a legal arrangement

Settlement A meeting with a judge to discuss whether

conference the matter can be finalised by agreement

rather than go to a hearing or be

determined by a judge

Short cause A matter that requires only a brief hearing

time of 15 minutes or 30 minutes

Specialist report Especially under the Guardianship Act

1968 and the Children, Young Persons,

and Their Families Act 1989, a report

obtained from a psychiatrist or a

psychologist or other professional

Spousal maintenance Financial support for a husband or wife or

de facto partner

Standard directions The Family Court Caseflow Management

Practice Note sets out the matters that will

normally need to be completed before an

application can be brought to a hearing.

The standard directions set out the steps

that usually should be taken and the time

in which they should be completed

Statute law The law contained in Acts passed by

Parliament

Submissions Arguments by lawyers on behalf of their

clients

Supervised access Contact between an adult, usually a

parent, and a child, which is overseen by

another responsible adult. Usually ordered

where there is some risk to the child if the

access is not supervised

Support order Under the Children, Young Persons, and

Their Families Act 1989, an order for

financial support for a child in care

Tangata whenua People of the land, Mäori

Testamentary To do with a will, for example,

testamentary capacity – whether a person

has sufficient mental capacity to sign a will

Tikanga Customs

Trust A form of ownership of assets whereby the

trustees of the trust own assets but hold

those assets for the benefit of other persons

known as beneficiaries

Waiata Song

Whänau Family

Whanaungatanga Covers all relationships on the basis of

descent from a common ancestor, and

marriage (that is, blood relatives, spouses

and affines). The term denotes the fact

that in traditional Mäori thinking,

relationships are everything

Whakapapa Genealogy

Whenua Land

Without-notice An application heard by a judge, where

application the respondent has not been given notice

of the hearing. Such applications are rare

and are only used in emergency situations

where there is risk to an applicant or a

child if the respondent was told about the

application before it was heard. Used

under the Domestic Violence Act 1995

and sometimes for an urgent custody

application or to prevent one party

applicationdisposing of property