Sir John Hugh Williams (born 23 September 1939), generally known as Hugh Williams, is a former president of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and a retired judge of the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand () 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 of justice throughout New Zeala ...

. From 2016 to 2022, he was Chief Justice of the Cook Islands.

Early life

Williams was educated at Wellington College and

Gisborne Boys' High School Gisborne Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was founded as a co-educational school in 1909 as Gisborne High School. In 1956, the school became Gisborne Boys' High School when it was split into two ...

, and graduated with an LLM (Hon) degree from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Career

Williams was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1988 and a High Court

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

in 1997. He was the Senior Puisne Judge and was a Master (Associate Judge) of the High Court for 6 previous years. He was the longest serving Judge based at the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

for many years, until he retired on 22 September 2009. Williams was the Criminal List Judge for Auckland, and presided over many high-profile trials, including the 2007 trials of Darin Gardner and Roger Kahui. Williams was Chancellor of

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

from 1990 to 1997, and a city councillor for Palmerston North City from 1983 to 1989. He is a former president of the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society () is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, although any person wishing ...

, and a current trustee of the Kea Conservation Trust. In 2009, he was appointed president of the Electoral Commission and succeeded Andrew McGechan. In 2010, he became chair of the new

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. After serving as a Cook Islands High Court judge from 2009, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Cook Islands in 2016. He retired as Chief Justice in December 2022 and was replaced by

Patrick Keane Patrick Anthony Keane (born 26 October 1952) is an Australian judge currently serving as a non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal since 6 April 2023, after his retirement as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He is ...

Honours

Williams was conferred an honorary doctorate ( DLit) by Massey University in 1998. In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Williams was appointed an Additional

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services as a judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Hugh Living people 1939 births New Zealand jurists High Court of New Zealand judges New Zealand King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Victoria University of Wellington alumni People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School Chancellors of Massey University Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Wellington College, Wellington Chief justices of the Cook Islands