There were joint winners of the JF Northey Memorial Book Award for 2016.

The Legal Research Foundation award was established in 1984 and is awarded annually to the best legal book published by a New Zealand-based author(s). It carries a prize of $2,000.

The winners of the 2016 award were announced at the Foundation AGM in July 2017. They were Jane Calderwood Norton for Freedom of Religious Organisations (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Joanna Mossop for The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles, Rights and Responsibilities (Oxford University Press, 2016).

The winners of the other annual awards for legal writing were:

Sir Ian Barker Published Article Award

This is given for the best article, essay or discrete book chapter published by a New Zealand-based author in 2016. It carries a prize of $1,500. This year's winners were Oliver Hailes and Andrew Geddis for "The Trans-Pacific Partnership in New Zealand's Constitution" (2016) 27(2) NZULR 226-262.

Unpublished Undergraduate Student Paper Award

This is open to unpublished student papers between a minimum of 10,000 and a maximum of 18,000 words. The paper must have been written for course credit at a New Zealand university and completed by the end of 2016. The award carries a prize of $1,000. This year's winner was Samuel Johnston for "The Introduction of Land Tax in New Zealand in 1878" (University of Auckland, Faculty of Law).

Unpublished Postgraduate Student Paper Award

This is open to unpublished postgraduate student papers between a minimum of 8,000 and a maximum of 18,000 words. This year's winner was Greg Severinsen with "Applying Principles of Environmental Law to Novel Technologies: The Case for Carbon Capture and Storage" (Victoria University Law School).