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Senior Courts Act 2016

Senior court Judges - Seniority of Judges

123: Seniority of High Court Judges

You could also call this:

"How High Court Judges Rank in Order of Importance"

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You want to know about the seniority of High Court Judges. High Court Judges are senior to Associate Judges and District Court Judges. When it comes to High Court Judges who are not Supreme Court Judges or Court of Appeal Judges, the Chief High Court Judge is senior to the other Judges. The other Judges are senior to each other based on when they were appointed. If two or more High Court Judges were appointed on the same day, their seniority is decided by the Governor-General or the order in which they took the judicial oath. If a Court of Appeal Judge resigns from that office but stays a High Court Judge, they keep the seniority they would have had if they were never a Court of Appeal Judge, you can find more information by looking at the ss 4(3) and 57(6D) for comparison.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5759471.

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Part 5Senior court Judges
Seniority of Judges

123Seniority of High Court Judges

  1. High Court Judges are senior to—

  2. Associate Judges; and
    1. District Court Judges.

      1. Among the High Court Judges who are not Supreme Court Judges or Court of Appeal Judges,—

      2. the Chief High Court Judge is senior to those Judges:
        1. the other Judges are senior to each other in order of date of appointment:
          1. 2 or more High Court Judges having the same date of appointment—
            1. have seniority according to the precedence assigned to them by the Governor-General on appointment; or
              1. if no precedence was assigned to them, according to the order in which they took the judicial oath.

              2. To avoid doubt, a Court of Appeal Judge who resigns from that office without resigning as a High Court Judge has, as a High Court Judge, the seniority that he or she would have had if he or she had not been appointed a Court of Appeal Judge.

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