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Senior Courts Act 2016

Senior court Judges - Seniority of Judges

121: Seniority of Supreme Court Judges

You could also call this:

"How Supreme Court Judges Rank in Order of Importance"

Illustration for Senior Courts Act 2016

You want to know about the seniority of Supreme Court Judges. They are senior to Court of Appeal Judges and High Court Judges who are not Supreme Court Judges. Supreme Court Judges are senior to each other based on when they were appointed. You need to understand that if two or more Supreme Court Judges were appointed on the same day, their seniority is decided in a special order. Judges who used to be Court of Appeal Judges are senior to those who were not. Judges who have not been Court of Appeal Judges but have been High Court Judges are senior based on their High Court seniority. You can compare this to the Senior Courts Act to see how it has changed over time.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5759469.

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Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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120: Chief Justice most senior Judge, or

"The Chief Justice is the leader of all Judges in New Zealand."

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122: Seniority of Court of Appeal Judges, or

"Who is in charge of the Court of Appeal Judges?"

Part 5Senior court Judges
Seniority of Judges

121Seniority of Supreme Court Judges

  1. Supreme Court Judges are senior to—

  2. Court of Appeal Judges; and
    1. High Court Judges who are not Supreme Court Judges.

      1. Supreme Court Judges (other than the Chief Justice) are senior to each other in order of date of appointment.

      2. If 2 or more Supreme Court Judges (other than the Chief Justice) have the same date of appointment, then seniority among those Judges is determined as follows:

      3. Judges who have been Court of Appeal Judges are senior to Judges who have not been Court of Appeal Judges:
        1. Judges who have been Court of Appeal Judges have among themselves the seniority they would have if still Court of Appeal Judges:
          1. Judges who have not been Court of Appeal Judges but have previously been High Court Judges have seniority among themselves according to their seniority as High Court Judges:
            1. Judges who have not previously been High Court Judges but have previously held other judicial office in New Zealand are senior to Judges who have not previously held judicial office in New Zealand.

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