The new text represents a thorough review of constitutional and administrative law developments since the previous revision published in 2014, and describes itself as being "about how New Zealand governs itself". It interrogates contemporary developments, while retaining the scholarly account of the doctrinal foundations of public law that is a defining feature of the text.

A key development is the new chapter that records increasing integration of tikanga Māori in legislative and judicial developments. The author interprets these developments as comprising a new form of legal pluralism that signals a distinctively indigenous, New Zealand jurisprudence.

The online edition is found in Constitutional Law – A to Z of New Zealand Law. It is also published in hard copy as Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law. The new edition was officially launched by the Chief Justice of New Zealand, Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann (GNZM), who noted the comprehensive way in which it addresses the complex constitutional arrangements of New Zealand.

About the author

Professor Philip Joseph is an authority on New Zealand’s constitutional and administrative law. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of Public Law Review and the New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law, and is a Contributing Editor to the New Zealand Law Review. Professor Joseph was a consultant to the law firm Russell McVeagh for 17 years. He now practises as a Barrister sole assisting with litigation and, from time to time, appearing as counsel in court.

The New Zealand Courts regularly cite Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law in their judgments, now with several hundred citations across New Zealand’s appellate courts. The text has also been cited by courts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and several Island States. The Legal Research Foundation awarded the first edition (1993) of the text the JF Northey Memorial Book Award.