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Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

Complaints about Judges

15: Commissioner must conduct preliminary examination

You could also call this:

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

Illustration for Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

The Commissioner looks at each complaint to decide what to do. You can think of this as a first check to see if the complaint is valid. The Commissioner must be fair when doing this. The Commissioner can ask the Judge for their side of the story. The Commissioner must follow the principles of natural justice, which means being fair and listening to both sides. This helps the Commissioner make a good decision about what to do with the complaint. The Commissioner can make inquiries, get court documents, and talk to the Head of Bench to help with their decision. After looking at the complaint, the Commissioner decides what to do next, such as taking no further action, dismissing the complaint, referring it to the Head of Bench, or recommending a Judicial Conduct Panel to look into the matter. The Commissioner's decision is based on what they found out during their first check of the complaint.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM293596.

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14: Commissioner must acknowledge complaint and deal with it promptly, or

"The Commissioner must reply to your complaint and sort it out quickly."

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

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

15Commissioner must conduct preliminary examination

  1. The Commissioner must conduct a preliminary examination of each complaint and form an opinion as to whether—

  2. there are any grounds for exercising his or her power under section 15A to take no further action in respect of the complaint; or
    1. there are any grounds for dismissing the complaint under section 16; or
      1. the subject matter of the complaint, if substantiated, could warrant referral of the complaint to the Head of Bench under section 17; or
        1. the subject matter of the complaint, if substantiated, could warrant consideration of the removal of the Judge from office by way of a recommendation under section 18.

          1. In the course of the preliminary examination, the Commissioner may seek the Judge's response to the complaint.

          2. In conducting a preliminary examination, the Commissioner must act in accordance with the principles of natural justice.

          3. For the purpose of a preliminary examination, the Commissioner may—

          4. make any inquiries into the complaint that he or she thinks appropriate:
            1. obtain any court documents (including, for example, the transcript of a hearing) that are relevant to an inquiry under paragraph (a):
              1. consult the Head of Bench.

                1. Having completed the preliminary examination and formed the opinion required by subsection (1), the Commissioner must take one of the following steps:

                2. exercise his or her power to take no further action in respect of the complaint (section 15A); or
                  1. dismiss the complaint (section 16); or
                    1. refer the complaint to the Head of Bench (section 17); or
                      1. recommend that the Attorney-General appoint a Judicial Conduct Panel to inquire into any matter or matters concerning the conduct of a Judge (section 18).

                        Notes
                        • Section 15(1)(a): substituted, on , by section 10(1) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).
                        • Section 15(1)(b): substituted, on , by section 10(1) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).
                        • Section 15(1)(c): added, on , by section 10(1) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).
                        • Section 15(1)(d): added, on , by section 10(1) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).
                        • Section 15(5)(aa): inserted, on , by section 10(2) of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel (Deputy Commissioner and Disposal of Complaints) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 5).