Rule of Law Work
Mai has authored a number of major reports and articles on the Rule of Law and access to justice. In particular, Mai has focused on culturally and linguistically diverse litigants and their interaction with the legal system. In chronological order, these publications are as follows:
Forthcoming
Mai Chen & Alice Strang “Asian Parties and the Property (Relationships) Act 1976: Unique challenges and issues”, forthcoming, Amicus Curiae Journal Vol 7, No. 2 (2026).
“The Data Gap for Asian Parties in the Court” – forthcoming article, to be published in the December 2025 edition of the New Zealand Law Journal.
Mai Chen and Yvonne Mortimer-Wang – « The Data Gap: Why Ethnicity Statistics are missing from NZ’s Civil Courts,” forthcoming article, to be published in the December 2025 edition of the New Zealand Law Journal.
Published work on access to justice and Asian parties in court/dispute
Mai Chen “Mediating between and with Asian parties in dispute” [2025] NZLJ 298. Download PDF
Mai Chen “Considering possible settlement: Asian parties in court” [2025] NZLJ 149. Download PDF
Susan Glazebrook J & Mai Chen “Tikanga and Culture in the Supreme Court: Ellis and Deng” Amicus Curiae Journal Vol 4, No. 2 (2023): Series 2, published on 6 March 2023. Download PDF
Mai Chen & Andrew Godwin “Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parties in Australian courts – Insights from New Zealand” (2022) Issue Paper. Download PDF
David Goddard J & Mai Chen “Article: Putting a Social and Cultural Framework on the Evidence Act” Amicus Curiae Journal Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022): Series 2, published on 2 November 2022. Download PDF
“The Supreme Court, Confucianism and Western values and the impact on the law”, LawTalk (Issue 946, June 2021) at 46-49. Download PDF
Mai Chen “Latest cases on CALD parties in litigation and lessons from the Court of Appeal in Zheng” [2021] ELB 5. Download PDF
“CALD parties before the Employment Relations Authority”, LawTalk (Issue 939, May 2020) at 52-54. Download PDF
“Judicial leadership on equal access to justice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parties in Courts”, LawTalk (Issue 938, April 2020) at 26-34. Download PDF
“Lawyers need to do more to ensure CALD clients get equal access to justice in courts”, LawTalk (Issue 935, December 2020) at 54-59. Download PDF
“Ensuring ethnically diverse workers do not suffer greater injury and illness”, LawTalk (Issue 925, February 2019) at 59-63. Download PDF
Culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse parties in the Courts: a Chinese case study (Superdiversity Institute of Law, Policy and Business, 2019). Download PDF
National Culture and its Impact on Workplace Health and Safety and Injury Prevention for Employers and Workers (Superdiversity Institute of Law, Policy and Business, 2019). Download PDF
“Unique issues and challenges faced by culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse parties in court” [2019] NZLJ 393 at 46-49. Download PDF
Other works include:
David Goddard J & Mai Chen “Putting a Social and Cultural Framework on the Evidence Act: Recent New Zealand Supreme Court Guidance” (2022). Presentations to a seminar on the Supreme Court decision in Deng v Zheng [2022] NZSC 76.
“Cultural Capability and Business Success Report: 5 top business leaders making cultural capability a cornerstone of their success” (Superdiversity Institute of Law, Policy and Business, 2022)
Pro bono work:
Chair, Superdiversity Institute
President, NZ Asian Lawyers
Patron, NZ Asian Leaders
Former inaugural Chair, Global Women
Assisting Lawyers for Climate Action get a right to a sustainable environment enacted
