CPD Points: 1
Starts: 5:00pm Thursday, 25 Jun 2026
Ends: 6:00pm Thursday, 25 Jun 2026
Location: Online
View MapGroup Pricing 10-15: $650.00
Group Pricing 3-4: $250.00
Group Pricing 5-9: $400.00
Members Ticket: $0.00 Members Free
Non-Member Ticket : $85.00
This practical webinar provides a clear and structured introduction to criminal appeals in New Zealand, designed for practitioners who want to confidently navigate the appeal process and make sound strategic decisions from the outset.
Chaired by Shane Elliott, this session’s presenter is Nick Chisnall KC, one of New Zealand’s leading criminal appellate KCs, who will demystify the appeal hierarchy and explain when, where, and how appeals and applications for leave must be brought.
The webinar will cover the statutory and procedural foundations of criminal appeals, before turning to the grounds on which leave to appeal may be granted and what appellate courts are looking for when considering those applications.
This will focus on why and how to address the merits of a proposed appeal at the leave stage, including when it is necessary or beneficial, and how to do it.
Throughout the session, the presenter will draw on real‑life appellate examples, offering practical insight into how these principles operate in practice and how advocates can avoid common missteps.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:
- Understand the criminal appeal hierarchy and the respective jurisdictions of the appellate courts.
- Identify when leave is required to appeal and determine the correct forum in which applications must be made.
- Learn the statutory and common law grounds for leave to appeal and the threshold tests applied by the courts.
- Recognise what appellate courts are looking for when assessing applications for leave.
- Assess when it is necessary or advantageous to address the substantive merits of the appeal as part of a leave application.
- Apply these principles in practice, informed by real appellate examples and judicial reasoning.
Who should attend
The presentation is aimed at junior and intermediate barristers and criminal practitioners who appear in, or advise on, criminal appeals, or who wish to deepen their understanding of leave requirements and appellate strategy.
Event Speakers
Nick Chisnall KC
Nick is a senior criminal barrister with a long‑established specialist practice in criminal appellate litigation. He regularly appears in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and has acted in many of New Zealand’s leading reported criminal appeal decisions. He is also frequently appointed by the High Court and Court of Appeal as amicus curiae to assist the Court on complex appellate and legal issues.
Before joining the independent Bar in 2017, he held senior leadership roles in criminal appellate practice. Nick was General Counsel at the Public Defence Service, where he oversaw its appellate work, and previously Crown Counsel at Crown Law in Wellington, leading criminal appeals in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on behalf of the Solicitor‑General. Earlier in his career, he was a senior Crown prosecutor and has extensive jury trial experience across serious criminal cases, providing a strong practical foundation for appellate advocacy.
Admitted in 1999, he is known for providing clear, realistic, and strategically focused advice tailored to clients’ needs. He is a regular presenter to the profession through the New Zealand Law Society, New Zealand Bar Association, and Criminal Bar Association, and is a member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee. He also serves as Deputy Chair of the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Nick was appointed King’s Counsel in 2022.
Nick is a senior criminal barrister with a long‑established specialist practice in criminal appellate litigation. He regularly appears in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and has acted in many of New Zealand’s leading reported criminal appeal decisions. He is also frequently appointed by the High Court and Court of Appeal as amicus curiae to assist the Court on complex appellate and legal issues.
Before joining the independent Bar in 2017, he held senior leadership roles in criminal appellate practice. Nick was General Counsel at the Public Defence Service, where he oversaw its appellate work, and previously Crown Counsel at Crown Law in Wellington, leading criminal appeals in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on behalf of the Solicitor‑General. Earlier in his career, he was a senior Crown prosecutor and has extensive jury trial experience across serious criminal cases, providing a strong practical foundation for appellate advocacy.
Admitted in 1999, he is known for providing clear, realistic, and strategically focused advice tailored to clients’ needs. He is a regular presenter to the profession through the New Zealand Law Society, New Zealand Bar Association, and Criminal Bar Association, and is a member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee. He also serves as Deputy Chair of the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Nick was appointed King’s Counsel in 2022.
Shane Elliott (Chair)
Shane is an experienced appellate barrister with particular strength in criminal appeals and complex regulatory prosecutions. He regularly appears at all levels of the New Zealand courts, including the Supreme Court, and has acted as counsel in a number of leading appellate decisions. His criminal and regulatory practice is underpinned by substantial experience as both a Crown prosecutor and defence counsel, giving him a strong strategic understanding of appellate issues, evidential challenges, and procedural fairness.
Before coming to the independent Bar, Shane practised at Russell McVeagh and Bell Gully on complex civil and regulatory matters, and at Meredith Connell as a regulatory and Crown prosecutor. He has particular expertise in criminal and quasi‑criminal appeals involving evidential admissibility, jurisdictional error, sentencing, and statutory interpretation, and is frequently instructed on appeals arising from health and safety, regulatory, and disciplinary prosecutions.
Shane is known for his practical, focused approach to appeals, with an emphasis on identifying dispositive issues and advancing clear, persuasive written and oral argument. His appellate experience includes leading authorities such as Va’afuti v R in the Supreme Court on the use of previous convictions under the Evidence Act, and Mobile Refrigeration Specialists v R in the Court of Appeal concerning a major health and safety prosecution.
Shane is an experienced appellate barrister with particular strength in criminal appeals and complex regulatory prosecutions. He regularly appears at all levels of the New Zealand courts, including the Supreme Court, and has acted as counsel in a number of leading appellate decisions. His criminal and regulatory practice is underpinned by substantial experience as both a Crown prosecutor and defence counsel, giving him a strong strategic understanding of appellate issues, evidential challenges, and procedural fairness.
Before coming to the independent Bar, Shane practised at Russell McVeagh and Bell Gully on complex civil and regulatory matters, and at Meredith Connell as a regulatory and Crown prosecutor. He has particular expertise in criminal and quasi‑criminal appeals involving evidential admissibility, jurisdictional error, sentencing, and statutory interpretation, and is frequently instructed on appeals arising from health and safety, regulatory, and disciplinary prosecutions.
Shane is known for his practical, focused approach to appeals, with an emphasis on identifying dispositive issues and advancing clear, persuasive written and oral argument. His appellate experience includes leading authorities such as Va’afuti v R in the Supreme Court on the use of previous convictions under the Evidence Act, and Mobile Refrigeration Specialists v R in the Court of Appeal concerning a major health and safety prosecution.