Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

Complaints about Judges

15A: Commissioner’s power in certain circumstances to take no further action in respect of complaints

You could also call this:

"The Commissioner can stop investigating a complaint if it's unfair to continue or can't be solved."

Illustration for Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

The Commissioner can decide not to take any more action on a complaint if they think it would be unfair to keep looking into it. You might wonder why they would make this decision. It could be because the complaint has been sorted out and you are happy with the explanation from the Judge. The Commissioner might also decide not to take more action if you made the complaint in good faith, but it was based on a misunderstanding. Another reason could be that the Commissioner has started looking into the complaint, but they do not think they can find enough information to make a decision, as stated in section 15. If the Commissioner decides not to take more action, they must tell you and the Judge in writing why they made this decision. The Commissioner's decision is not limited by the reasons they can consider. If you receive an apology from the Judge, it does not automatically mean the Commissioner will not take any more action. You will receive a written notice from the Commissioner stating their decision and the reasons for it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2840456.

This page was last updated on — View changes

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpRights and equality > Anti-discrimination
Previous

15: Commissioner must conduct preliminary examination, or

"The Commissioner checks a complaint to see if it's valid and decides what to do next."

Next

16: Commissioner must dismiss complaints that fail to meet required threshold, or

"The Commissioner must reject complaints that don't meet the rules."

15ACommissioner’s power in certain circumstances to take no further action in respect of complaints

  1. The Commissioner may take no further action in respect of a complaint if satisfied that further consideration of the complaint would, in all the circumstances, be unjustified.

  2. Reasons why further consideration of a complaint would, in all the circumstances, be unjustified, may be or include all or any of the following that apply to the complaint:

  3. that the complaint has been resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction following an explanation from the Judge who is the subject of the complaint:
    1. that the complaint is genuine and made in good faith, but is based on a misunderstanding:
      1. that the complaint is one in respect of which the Commissioner, having started the preliminary examination required by section 15, concludes that there is no reasonable prospect of there being available to him or her information that would enable him or her to form an opinion on the matters specified in section 15(1)(b), (c), and (d).

        1. The fact that a complaint has been resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction because of an apology by the Judge who is the subject of the complaint is not, by itself, a reason why further consideration of a complaint would, in all the circumstances, be unjustified.

        2. Subsection (2) does not limit subsection (1).

        3. If the Commissioner exercises his or her power under this section to take no further action in respect of a complaint, he or she must give the complainant and the Judge who is the subject of the complaint written notification stating—

        4. that the Commissioner has exercised that power; and
          1. the grounds on which he or she is satisfied that further consideration of the complaint would, in all the circumstances, be unjustified.

            Notes
            • Section 15A: inserted, on , by section 11 of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).