Judicial Conduct Commissioner appointed

Wellington lawyer Sir David Gascoigne has been appointed Judicial Conduct Commissioner, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

A graduate of Victoria University, Sir David was a founding partner and later National Chairman of Partners of law firm Rudd Watts & Stone, now known as Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. He is now a Consultant and a member of the board with that firm. 

He chairs the boards of both PSIS and Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, and has previously been a director of firms including Transpower, Sky City, Norwich Union Holdings, State Insurance Limited, and New Zealand Post.

Sir David has been Chair of Opera New Zealand since 2002 and has held numerous other governance roles in the creative sector, including sitting on the boards of the New Zealand Film Commission and Te Papa. In 2005 he chaired the Rugby World Cup 2011 Bid Advisory Committee, which oversaw the successful bid for the hosting of the tournament in New Zealand. He is also the Independent Reviewer of the Auditor-General's audit allocation processes.

The role of Judicial Conduct Commissioner was established by the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004. The Commissioner is the first avenue for all complaints about Judges. The Commissioner carries out preliminary examination of complaints to determine whether a complaint will be dismissed or referred to the relevant Head of Bench, or is serious enough to warrant an investigation by a Judicial Conduct Panel.

The appointment, for a five year term, runs from 30 July.