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1.1.5 Capital letters

Avoid unnecessary use of capital letters.

Capitalise proper nouns. When using a short-form title of a specific legal or constitutional person, organisation, or institution use capital letters.

Eg The newspaper criticised the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the basis that ministers should not mix public and private business. In response the Minister resigned.

Eg The Court of Appeal held that the Judge had misunderstood the discretion afforded to judges in this area. Accordingly, the Court set aside the judgment.

Eg The High Court noted that a court should be cautious about interfering in political matters. In general, the courts respect the separation of powers.

Eg The Fourth Labour Government deregulated many aspects of the New Zealand economy. Many governments around the world later followed suit.

Eg In Smith v Smith the Court of Appeal sat as a full court. The Full Court found in favour of the appellant.

However, the following are always given an initial capital letter when used in their legislative or constitutional sense:

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