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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 Seniority"

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 were Court of Appeal Judges keep the seniority they had when they were Court of Appeal Judges. You can find more information about this by looking at the Senior Courts Act and other related laws. The seniority rules also apply to Judges who used to be High Court Judges or held other judicial offices in New Zealand. This helps decide who is senior to whom among the Supreme Court Judges.

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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

"How Court of Appeal Judges Rank in Order of Importance"

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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