High Court of New Zealand


The High Court of New Zealand is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration of justice throughout New Zealand. There are 18 High Court locations throughout New Zealand, and one stand-alone registry.
The High Court was established in 1841. It was originally called the "Supreme Court of New Zealand", but the name was changed in 1980 to make way for the naming of an eventual new Supreme Court of New Zealand.
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 and up to 55 other Judges. The administrative head of the court is known as the Chief High Court Judge. Associate Judges of the High Court 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.

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, 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. 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, 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.

Cited cases

Appellate function

Rights of appeal to the High Court exist against the decisions of the District Court, the Family Court, the Youth Court and the Environment Court and numerous administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies.

Judges of the High Court

The following are the permanent Judges of the High Court as of 2026:
NameAppointedResident courtNotes
Sally Fitzgerald2016AucklandChief High Court Judge
Geoffrey Venning2002AucklandFormer Chief High Court Judge
Graham Lang2005Auckland
Mary Peters2010Auckland
Cameron Mander2013Christchurch
Rachel Dunningham2014Christchurch
Rebecca Edwards2015AucklandAppointed to Court of Appeal with effect from 9 February 2026
Mathew Downs2016Auckland
Peter Churchman 2017Wellington
Pheroze Jagose2017Auckland
Gerard van Bohemen2017Auckland
Christine Grice 2018Wellington
Grant Powell2018Auckland
Ian Gault2018Auckland
Tracey Walker2019Auckland
Melanie Harland2020Auckland
Andru Isac 2020Wellington
Michael Robinson2021Auckland
Jonathan Eaton 2021Christchurch
Layne Harvey2021Auckland
Kiri Tahana2022Auckland
Helen McQueen2022Wellington
Peter Andrew2022Auckland
David Johnstone2022Auckland
Paul Radich 2023Wellington
Andrew Becroft 2023Auckland
Jane Anderson 2023Auckland
Lisa Preston 2023Christchurch
Laura O’Gorman 2023Auckland
Dale La Hood2023Wellington
Karen Grau2024Wellington
Michele Wilkinson-Smith2024Auckland
Jason McHerron2024Wellington
David Boldt2024Wellington
Gregory Blanchard 2024Auckland
Dani Gardiner2024Auckland
Simon Mount 2025Auckland
James MacGillivray2025Auckland
Owen Paulsen2025Christchurch
Michael Arthur2025Auckland
Amokura Kawharu2026AucklandAppointment to take effect on 9 February 2026
Victoria Heine 2026WellingtonAppointment to take effect on 16 February 2026

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.
The following are the Associate Judges of the High Court as of 2026:
NameAppointedResident courtNotes
Kenneth Johnston2018WellingtonAppointed the Chairperson of the Independent Police Conduct Authority as of 1 May 2023
Dale Lester2018Christchurch
Rachel Sussock2020Auckland
Clive Taylor2021Auckland
Grant Brittain 2020Auckland
Andrew Skelton2023Wellington
Paul Cogswell2024Auckland
Liz Gellert2024Auckland

Relationship with Australian courts

The Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010, the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 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.