Judicial Matters Bill
This bill changes how complaints about judges are handled. It creates a new role, the Deputy Judicial Conduct Commissioner, to help with complaints, especially if the main Commissioner has a conflict of interest or is unavailable. It also allows the Commissioner to decide not to take further action on some complaints if they are unjustified, like if they've already been sorted out or are based on a misunderstanding. Lastly, it increases the maximum number of Associate Judges in the High Court from six to nine.
What this affects
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The bill changes how complaints about judges are handled and increases the number of certain judges in the High Court.
establish the Office of the Deputy Judicial Conduct Commissioner
allow the Judicial Conduct Commissioner to decide to take no further action in respect of a complaint
increase the statutory maximum number of Associate Judges of the High Court from six to nine.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
Submissions open once a bill reaches the select committee stage and the committee calls for them. In the meantime, you can write to your local MP about it.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.