New Zealand has a parliamentary system of government closely patterned on that of the United Kingdom and is a fully independent member of the Commonwealth. It has no written constitution. Executive authority is vested in a cabinet led by the prime minister, who is the leader of the political party or coalition of parties holding the majority of seats in parliament. All cabinet ministers must be members of parliament and are collectively responsible to it.

The New Zealand legal system is derived from the English one and comes from two main sources:

• The common law, which is a body of law built up from decisions made in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand. Developments made by New Zealand courts mean that New Zealand now differs from the United Kingdom on some aspects of the common law.

• Statute law, which is all the law made by Parliament.

The Three Branches of Government:

• The Legislature - makes Law

• The Executive - initiates & administers law

• The Judiciary - applies law

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The Governor-General represents the Queen of New Zealand as head of state.

• The New Zealand Parliament is unicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives.

• No single written constitution exists, however the Constitution Act of 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure.

• The Prime Minister leads the Cabinet.

• The highest court in the nation is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Supreme Court was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act in 2003.

• New Zealand's judiciary also has a High Court, which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters, and a Court of Appeal, as well as subordinate courts.