Complaints Process
How to complain about the conduct of Judges and how complaints are assessed.
Making a complaint
A complaint about a Judge's conduct can be made by email, letter or by using the form in this section.
Welcome
The Office of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner was established in August 2005 to receive and assess complaints about the conduct of Judges. The relevant legislation is the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004. It provides for a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.
The purpose of the Act is to:
- to enhance public confidence in the judicial system
- to protect the impartiality and integrity of the judicial system.
Complaints may be made against Judges of the various Courts set out in section 5 of the Act, including temporary, associate, and acting Judges but any complaint made about a retired or former Judge must be dismissed.
The Commissioner cannot challenge the legality or correctness of a Judge’s decision in relation to any legal proceedings.
Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners
Alan Ritchie, LLB became the first Deputy Commissioner in 2011 and took office as Commissioner on 31 August 2015. Mr Ritchie is a Parole Board Convenor and was Executive Director of the New Zealand Law Society from 1985 to 2008.
In May 2023, Mary Ollivier, LLB was appointed as Deputy Commissioner. Ms Ollivier is the Commissioner at a dispute resolution organisation and spent over twenty years at the former Wellington District Law Society and then the New Zealand Law Society in professional standards and regulatory capacities, including a 15-month period as its Acting Executive Director.
Both Mr Ritchie and Ms Ollivier are lawyers.
The Act
Follow the link to go directly to the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 on www.legislation.govt.nz
Contact Us
Mail: PO Box 2661, Wellington
Email: judicialconduct@jcc.govt.nz
A message service operates at all times.
Phone: 0800 800 323, Fax: 04 472 6159
