Court of Appeal of New Zealand

Court of Appeal in Wellington

Courtroom number 1

The President and nine other permanent appellate judges constitute the full-time working membership of the Court of Appeal.

The court sits in panels of five judges and three judges, depending on the nature and wider significance of the particular case. A considerable number of three-judge cases are heard by Divisional Courts consisting of one permanent Court of Appeal judge and two High Court judges seconded for that purpose.

In the main, criminal appeals will be allocated to a Divisional Court unless the President otherwise directs. This recognises the insights which judges with current trial experience bring to criminal appeals. Counsel for the appellant or respondent may request a direction that a particular appeal be instead allocated to a Permanent Court or a Full Court.

Longer civil appeals or areas that raise legal issues of public significance will usually be allocated to a Permanent Court. Appeals from decisions of associate judges of the High Court and shorter civil appeals that raise mainly factual issues, usually will be allocated to a Divisional Court unless the President otherwise directs. Again counsel for the appellant or respondent may request a direction that a particular appeal be allocated to a Divisional Court, a Permanent Court, or a Full Court.

The President will also determine whether an appeal (criminal or civil) is of sufficient significance to warrant the consideration of a Full Court of five members. The President will, where appropriate, consult with other permanent judges. Such a decision typically is made only once or twice a year.[1]

The current judges of the Court of Appeal are:[5]

The current registrar of the court is Maryanne McKennie.

The Court of Appeal has existed since 1862. Before the establishment of the Court of Appeal, appeals from High Court (then known as the Supreme Court) decisions were heard by the governor and members of the Executive Council of New Zealand. This was a temporary measure until there were sufficient judges to constitute a court of appeal. By 1860, the High Court bench was large enough to sustain a court of appeal, but not large enough to provide a permanent court of appeal. In 1862 the Court of Appeal was consisted of judges of the High Court on a rotating basis. It initially sat in Christchurch and Dunedin, and then moved to Wellington when that city became capital in 1865.[10] The increase in the court's workload and the practical difficulties of High Court judges making themselves available for appellate work, resulted in the call for a permanent court of appeal. In 1957 the permanent Court of Appeal was established in Wellington with three specifically appointed Court of Appeal judges. Before the Supreme Court was established, the chief justice was a member of the Court of Appeal by virtue of office, but the permanent complement of the court comprised the President and six permanent members. Today the court consists of the President and nine other judges. The number of permanent Court members has risen as the volume and complexity of litigation and appeals have increased. There are now ten permanent members. The Court of Appeal delivered 628 judgments in 2017.

• Hon Sir Stephen Kós, KNZM KC 22 July 2016 – 21 April 2022
• Hon Dame Ellen France, DNZM 1 September 2014 – 21 July 2016
• Hon Sir Mark O'Regan, KNZM 1 July 2010 – 1 September 2014
• Hon Sir William Young, KNZM KC 23 February 2006 – 1 July 2010
• Hon Sir Noel Anderson, KNZM QC 1 January 2004 – 23 February 2006
• Rt Hon Sir Thomas Gault, KNZM QC 24 May 2002 – 31 December 2003
• Rt Hon Sir Ivor Richardson, PCNZM QC 17 February 1996 – 23 May 2002
• Rt Hon Sir Robin Cooke, ONZ KBE QC 1 May 1986 – 16 February 1996
• Rt Hon Sir Owen Woodhouse, ONZ KBE DSC 1 May 1981 – 1 May 1986
• Rt Hon Sir Clifford Richmond, KBE 20 May 1976 – 30 April 1981
• Rt Hon Sir Thaddeus McCarthy, ONZ KBE 1 July 1973 – 19 May 1976
• Rt Hon Sir Alexander Turner, KBE QC 1 February 1972 – 29 June 1973
• Rt Hon Sir Alfred North, KBE QC 22 July 1963 – 31 January 1972
• Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Gresson, KBE 23 October 1957 – 17 July 1963

• Mall Finance & Investment Co Ltd v Slater [1976] 2 NZLR 685 (10 August 1976)[11]

Case regarding whether a contract entered into to stop a party for filing criminal charge is legally enforceable or not.

• Fletcher Aluminium Ltd v O'Sullivan [2001] 2 NZLR 731 (15 February 2001)[12]

A restrictive covenant in a business sale may be enforceable even if there is no goodwill involved.

• R v AM [2010] NZCA 114, [2010] 2 NZLR 750 (31 March 2010)[13]

Tariff judgment providing guidance for judges sentencing defendants for rape and unlawful sexual connection.

• R v Harpur [2010] NZCA 319, 24 CRNZ 909 (23 July 2010)

The defendant's conduct in meeting up with a woman with the intention of raping her 4-year old sister was sufficiently proximate conduct to be an attempted sexual violation despite the fact the 4-year old sister did not exist.

• Ridca Central v VM [2011] NZCA 659, [2012] 1 NZLR 641 (19 December 2011)[14]

Judgment providing guidance for when orders requiring compulsory care of intellectually disabled persons detained under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 should be extended.

• Ministry of Health v Atkinson [2012] NZCA 184, [2012] 3 NZLR 456 (14 May 2012)[15]

The Ministry of Health's policy of excluding family members from payment of disability services to their children was unjustified discrimination on the ground of family status.

• Hall v R [2015] NZCA 403 (2 September 2015)[16]

Judgment providing guidance on the procedure to be adopted for appeals against conviction on the ground that the defendant's counsel at trial made errors in the conduct of the defence.

• R v Harrison [2016] NZCA 381 (10 August 2016)[17]

Judgment providing interpretation of "manifestly unjust" in relation to the "three strikes" regime contained in the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010.

• Attorney-General v Taylor [2017] NZCA 215 (26 May 2017)[18]

Judgment providing guidance on the voting rights of prisoners.

• The history of the Court of Appeal (courtsofnz.govt.nz)
• The Court of Appeal (justice.govt.nz)