The chief justice of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kaiwhakawā Tumuaki o Aotearoa) is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

. The chief justice of New Zealand is also the chief justice of

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

. Before the establishment of the Supreme Court in 2004, the chief justice was the presiding judge in the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...

, and was also ''ex officio'' a member of the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

. The office is established by the Senior Courts Act 2016, which describes the chief justice as "senior to all other judges". The chief justice is

first among equals ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their se ...

among the Judges of the Supreme Court. They also act in place of the

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

if one has not been appointed or if the appointee is unable to perform their duties. When acting in place of the governor-general, the chief justice is known as the "

administrator of the Government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general. ...

". The chief justice is appointed by the governor-general, on the formal advice of the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. The current chief justice is the Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann, who was appointed on 14 March 2019 to replace the Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias, who had reached mandatory retirement at age 70.

History

From 1841 to 1957, the chief justice was the indisputable senior member of the New Zealand judiciary, and served on the old Supreme Court (now called the

). Prior to 1957, all judges of the Supreme Court sat as members of the Court of Appeal. In 1957, a permanent Court of Appeal was established which was headed by a President responsible for the running of that court. The role of the chief justice became akin to that of the current chief High Court judge, responsible for the operation of the High Court (comprising the largest part of the senior judiciary) but not having control over the senior New Zealand–based appellate court (being the Court of Appeal). This changed in 2004 with the abolition of the right of appeal to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

and its replacement by the Supreme Court of New Zealand as the court of last resort for New Zealand. When the new Supreme Court was established, the chief justice became head of that court.

List of chief justices

References

External links

Ministry of Justice - The Chief Justice

{{British dependencies chief justices, state = collapsed

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Law of New Zealand 1841 establishments in New Zealand