Peter Francis Boshier (born 16 March 1952) is a New Zealand lawyer and judge. He served as the principal judge of the

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

from 2004 to 2012. He was Chief Ombudsman from 10 December 2015 until 28 March 2025.

Biography

Boshier was born in Gisborne on 16 March 1952. He was educated at

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 went on to study at

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 ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(Honours) degree in 1975. Boshier practised law in Wellington, and his judicial career began in 1988 when he was appointed a

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

judge, specialising in family court matters. He was appointed principal Family Court judge on 3 May 2004, and remained in that role until 10 December 2012, when he became an acting Family Court judge for a two-year term. After serving as a Law Commissioner, Boshier was appointed Chief Ombudsman for a five-year term on 10 December 2015. He was subsequently reappointed for a second five-year term in 2020. He resigned on 16 March 2024 at statutory retirement age of 72, but was asked to stay on until a replacement was found. Boshier was president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in the United States from July 2015 to July 2016, the first New Zealander in this role. He was also active in the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), serving as the Australasia and Pacific regional president in 2019, and as second vice-president of the IOI in 2022.

Honours and awards

In 2009, Boshier received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Victoria University of Wellington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boshier, Peter 1952 births Living people People from Gisborne, New Zealand People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand lawyers District Court of New Zealand judges Ombudsmen in New Zealand