Doctoral study in Law

The PhD is a thesis-only research degree programme, usually requiring full-time study for three to four years or part-time study for six to eight years. The degree is undertaken under supervision and candidates must complete a sustained course of advanced legal research resulting in the production of a substantial original thesis.

If you have New Zealand postgraduate qualifications, you will need to have completed an LLB(Hons), a postgraduate bachelors (honours) degree in law or a Master of Laws with first class or second class (division 1) honours.

Auckland Law School has New Zealand’s largest community of legal academics, with leaders in Corporate and Commercial Law, Public Law and International Law. With these and all other major areas of the law, we attract research students from around the world.

The University of Auckland Law School is an active and vibrant research institution. Its members regularly publish articles and books in New Zealand and around the world, and also serve as editors of a range of publications. The faculty hosts a number of research centres, and maintains close cooperation with the Legal Research Foundation. The faculty’s work is supported by the Davis Law Library’s extensive collection of legal materials.

The faculty welcomes enquiries from prospective research students. The faculty’s core subject areas include: 

• Constitutional, Administrative and Public Law
• Contract, Torts, Equity and Private Law
  
• Corporate and Commercial Law
  
• Criminal Law and Justice
• Human Rights Law
• Indigenous Peoples and the Law
  
• International and Comparative Law
  
• Land and Environmental Law
• Legal History and Theory
• Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Family and Relationships Law

• "Combating Climate Change: Religious Engagement in the interface between Ethics, Policy and Law" | Supervised by Professor Klaus Bosselmann
• "The Investment Treaty Regime and Public Interest Regulation in Ghana: Perspectives in Constitutionalism and General International Law" | Supervised by Professor Jane Kelsey and Associate Professor Chris Noonan
• "Global Matchmakers: Tax Challenges and Responses in the Digital Economy" | Supervised by Professor Craig Elliffe
• "A Praiseworthy Device for Amusing and Pacifying Savages? What the Framers Meant by the English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi" | Supervised by Professor David Williams
• "Corporate Political Spending Information Disclosure Regime: Economic Consequences and Future Development" | supervised by Professor Susan Watson and Professor David Mayes
• "Unwritten Constitutionalism: A Study of the Principles and Structures That Inform New Zealand's Distinctively Unwritten Constitution" | Supervised by Professor Paul Rishworth and Professor Bruce Harris
• "A law and development perspective on services liberalisation in the Pacific Island Countries with particular reference to tourism" | Supervised by Professor Jane Kelsey and Associate Professor Amokura Kawharu
• "Safeguarding a Liberal System of States: Reinterpreting States’ Freedoms in Increasing Interdependence" | Supervised by Associate Professor Caroline Foster and Professor Jane Kelsey
• "Global Climate Change: Transfer of Technology, Financial Assistance and Sustainable Economic Development of Developing Countries under the International Legal Framework" | Supervised by Professor Klaus Bosselmann
• "The Acquisition and Loss of Property Ownership and Registered Trade Mark Law" | supervised by Associate Professor Chris Noonan and Professor Warren Swain

There are several scholarships you may be eligible for when you decide to pursue your doctoral studies in Law.

University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships

University of Auckland Law School’s Dean’s Doctoral Scholarships

New Zealand Law Foundation Doctoral Scholarship

If you want to chat further about your studies, either email lawphd@auckland.ac.nz or click below to get in contact.