CliqNews Desk · EN
When Microsoft goes down, justice slows to a halt.
New Zealand’s Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is facing pressure after a global Microsoft outage forced courts to accept urgent applications on paper or by courier.
Lanaka Valery
13 November 2026 · 1 min
The Ministry of Justice said Outlook and other Microsoft applications were not working as expected, but confirmed that courts remain open and remote hearings are continuing.
“Courts remain available to accept urgent applications over the counter or via courier,” the ministry said, adding that its 0800 COURTS helpline is still available for urgent queries.
The outage has also disrupted property settlements, with lawyers unable to issue undertakings or receive bank drawdown information.
The disruption affected Microsoft products in 74 countries and territories, with nearly 130,000 users reporting problems accessing Outlook at the peak.
Microsoft shares fell in after-hours trading as investors assessed the fallout from an outage that has hit courts, banks, governments and businesses worldwide.
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