Tribunals and Post-Disaster Dispute Resolution: A Canterbury Case Study

• Date: 1 December 2024
• Contract Reference: 3395
• Authors: Dr Toni Collins, Dr W. John Hopkins, Natalie Baird, Jill Banwell

Abstract

This Report is in four main parts. The first examines Aotearoa New Zealand’s dispute resolution system in the context of the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES). This event saw a huge growth in the number of disputes which threatened to overwhelm the existing system. One initiative in response was the establishment of the Canterbury Earthquakes Insurance Tribunal (CEIT). The second part provides an examination of the jurisdiction, practice and processes of this Tribunal. The third part provides a critical assessment of the CEIT’s operation, drawing on the findings of a series of semi-structured interviews with those who appeared before the Tribunal, worked as employees within it or otherwise engaged with the CEIT and the wider dispute resolution system in the post-CES environment. The fourth and final part draws upon the project’s research findings to propose a series of recommendations for consideration in the construction of future dispute resolution mechanisms in post-disaster environments and the role of tribunals within them.

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