The High Court of New Zealand () is the superior court of general jurisdiction of New Zealand. Rules relating to the jurisdiction of the Court and its Judges are contained in the Senior Courts Act 2016, and its procedure is governed by the High Court Rules 2016, although it also has an inherent jurisdiction. There are 18 High Court locations throughout New Zealand, and one stand-alone registry.
The High Court was established as the "Supreme Court of New Zealand" in 1841. The name was changed in 1980 following the recommendation of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Courts in 1978, which meant that the name "Supreme Court" was available for the Supreme Court of New Zealand which was established in 2004 as the final appellate court for the country.
The High Court is a court of first instance for serious criminal cases such as homicide, civil claims exceeding $350,000, and certain other civil cases. In its appellate function, the High Court hears appeals from the District Court, other lower courts and various tribunals.
Composition and locations
The High Court comprises the Chief Justice (who is head of the judiciary) and up to 60 other permanent Judges (including the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Justices of the Court of Appeal). The administrative head of the court is known as the Chief High Court Judge. Associate Judges of the High Court (called Masters up until May 2004) supervise the Court's preliminary processes in most civil proceedings, and have jurisdiction to deal with summary judgment applications, company liquidations, bankruptcy proceedings, and some other types of civil proceedings.
The High Court Judges and Associate Judges are based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, but also travel on circuit to Whangārei, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Nelson, Blenheim, Greymouth, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. The Court also has a registry in Masterton but does not hear cases there.
Jurisdiction Criminal matters The High Court deals with the most serious types of criminal offences that exceed the District Court's jurisdiction. It deals with all category 4 offences, including murder, manslaughter and treason,Criminal Procedure Act 2011, section 74(3). as well as any other offence where the accused is likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment or preventive detention. A High Court Judge may direct that a serious category 2 and 3 "protocol" offence, such as aggravated wounding with intent, kidnapping or sexual violation of a child, be transferred from the District Court to the High Court for hearing.Criminal Procedure Act 2011, sections 66 to 70. Most cases are heard before a Judge and jury, but may sometimes be heard before a Judge alone.
Civil matters The Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all civil claims where the amount in dispute exceeds $350,000, and certain categories of proceedings. The categories of proceeding which can only be commenced in the High Court includes matters concerning admiralty, certain applications relating to land (such as seeking its transfer or caveats), company law including liquidations, bankruptcy, the administration of estates and trusts, and trade mark and patent infringement. For civil claims of up to $350,000, the High Court can have co-extensive jurisdiction with the District Court.
Appellate function Rights of appeal to the High Court exist against civil and criminal decisions of the District Court (except for jury trials), the Family Court, the Youth Court and the Environment Court and numerous administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies.
Cited cases
Judges of the High Court Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal are also technically Judges of the High Court.Senior Courts Act 2016, s 104.
The Senior Courts Act 2016 limits the number of permanent judges of the High Court to 60 FTE excluding the Chief Justice. That figure includes permanent Judges of the Supreme Court (maximum of 5 plus the Chief Justice) and the Court of Appeal (maximum of 10). In practical terms this means a maximum of 45 full time equivalent permanent full High Court judges, an increase of five as a result of the Judicature (Timeliness) Legislation Amendment Act 2025. Prior to the 2025 amendment, the cap on the number of Judges had remained static since 2004.
As with judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, High Court judges must retire upon attaining the age of 70 yearsSenior Courts Act 2016, s 133 but are eligible for appointment as an Acting Judge up until the age of 75, provided that the term of acting Judge is no more than two years at a time. Senior Courts Act 2016, s 113
The following are the permanent Judges of the High Court : Name Appointed Resident court Notes Sally Fitzgerald2016Auckland Chief High Court Judge (20 December 2023 – present) Mary Peters 2010 Auckland Cameron Mander 2013 Christchurch Rachel Dunningham 2014 Christchurch Mathew Downs 2016 Auckland Pheroze Jagose 2017 Auckland Grant Powell 2018 Auckland Ian Gault 2018 Auckland Tracey Walker 2019 Auckland Melanie Harland 2020 Auckland Andru Isac 2020 Wellington Michael Robinson 2021 Auckland Jonathan Eaton 2021Christchurch Layne Harvey 2021 Auckland Kiri Tahana 2022 Auckland Helen McQueen 2022 Wellington Peter Andrew2022AucklandPaul Radich 2023WellingtonAndrew Becroft 2023AucklandJane Anderson 2023AucklandLisa Preston 2023ChristchurchLaura O’Gorman 2023AucklandDale La Hood2023WellingtonKaren Grau2024WellingtonMichele Wilkinson-Smith2024AucklandJason McHerron2024WellingtonDavid Boldt2024WellingtonGreg Blanchard 2024AucklandDani Gardiner 2024AucklandSimon Mount 2025Auckland James MacGillivray2025Auckland Owen Paulsen2025Christchurch Michael Arthur2025AucklandAmokura Kawharu2026AucklandVictoria Heine 2026WellingtonBrett Tantrum2026AucklandNatalie Walker2026AucklandRachel Sussock2026Auckland Ed Crook2026Auckland
In addition, the following hold current warrants as acting Judges of the High Court : Name Resident court Period of appointmentRefers to period of current warrant and excludes and previous warrants as a Judge or Acting JudgeChristine Gordon Auckland1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026Robert OsborneChristchurch1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026Cheryl GwynWellington24 August 2026 to 23 August 2027Peter ChurchmanWellington21 September 2026 to 30 June 2027 Christine Grice Wellington1 October 2026 to 31 December 2027
Associate Judges of the High Court Associate Judges have more limited jurisdiction than full High Court judges. They deal with caveats, company liquidations, bankruptcy applications, summary judgment applications, other interlocutory applications, and case management.
Associate Judges are appointed under the Senior Courts Act 2016 and their jurisdiction and related matters are set out in that statute. Unlike full judges, there is no statutory limit on the number of Associate Judges. The Judicial Protocol states that there are up to 9 Associate Judges.
The following are the Associate Judges of the High Court : Name Appointed Resident court Notes Kenneth Johnston 2018 Wellington Appointed the Chairperson of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) as of 1 May 2023 Dale Lester 2018 Christchurch Andrew Skelton 2023 Wellington Paul Cogswell 2024 Auckland Liz Gellert 2025 Auckland Helen Wild 2026 Auckland Bill Gambrill 2026 Auckland Nick Malarao 2026 Auckland Sarah Wroe 2026 Auckland
In addition, the following holds a current warrant as an acting Associate Judge of the High Court : Name Resident court Period of appointmentRefers to period of current warrant and excludes and previous warrants as a Judge or Acting JudgeClive TaylorAuckland10 March 2026 to 31 December 2026
Relationship with Australian courts The Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (NZ), the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Aust) and the High Court Rules 2016 streamline the process for resolving civil proceedings with a trans-Tasman element. The Acts cover many matters including service, interim relief, hearing matters remotely and the enforcement of judgments of courts of the other country.
See also Supreme Court of New Zealand Court of Appeal of New Zealand Judicial review in New Zealand, relating to the High Court List of cases of the High Court of New Zealand Sheriffs of the New Zealand High Court
References
External links The High Court of New Zealand Senior Courts Act 2016 Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 3.0 New Zealand (CC BY 3.0 NZ) license. High Court Rules 2016 Judicial Decisions Online