In addition to legislation enacted by the New Zealand Parliament, there exists a considerable body of common law whose roots stem from English common law, embodying common law principles and rules that are relevant to data protection. Among the fundamental common law principles is the principle that the dignity of the individual is a paramount concern of the law. This common law principle is a key element in the background context to judicial decision-making generally in New Zealand. New Zealand case-law based on common law also contains a number of other aspects of privacy including invasion of privacy, breach of confidence and incidental protection in the context of defamation, nuisance, harassment, malicious falsehood, negligence and others.