Name of the institution : The High Court of New Zealand

President :
The Rt Hon Dame Sian ELIAS GNZM

Address :
Chief Justice's Chambers
PO Box 1091
Wellington
DX SP27009 WELLINGTON
New Zealand

Phone number :
(64) (4) 915.81.39
(64) (4) 914.36.39

Fax :
(64) (4) 914.36.36

Composition and structure

Number of members :
The Chief Justice and 36 Judges.

Recruitment procedures and incompatibilities :
High Court Judges are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Attorney General. Judges are chosen from amongst senior members of the legal profession. To be eligible for appointment an individual must have held a practising certificate as a barrister considerably longer than 7 years. Most appointees would have been in practice considerably longer than 7 years.

Internal organization :
The High Court is divided administratively into 4 regions. In each region there is a home court and a series of circuit courts. A number of High Court Judges are based at each home court and service the circuit courts attached to that home court.

In the majority of cases High Court Judges sit alone but especially when exercising appellate jurisdiction 2 Judges may sit together.

Publications :
The more important decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal are published in the New Zealand Law Reports. Unreported decisions are available from Court registries. The judiciary publishes an annual report about its work. The Department for Courts also publishes an annual report about the administration of the courts system.

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Court functions

Jurisdiction :
The High Court has all the jurisdiction necessary to administer the laws of New Zealand. It exercises jurisdiction in cases of major crime, Admiralty proceedings, more important civil claims, appeals from lower courts and tribunals, and reviews of administrative actions. It has inherent jurisdiction to punish for contempt of court.

Organization of the courts system :
The High Court exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction.

Powers of the judge :
The powers of the judge vary depending on the type of case.

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Advisory functions

The High Court has no advisory jurisdiction.

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