Sian Elias Appointed As New Chief Justice

Justice Sian Elias is to be the new Chief Justice of New Zealand, Prime Minister Jenny Shipley announced today.

She will take up her appointment in May, upon the retirement of Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum.

"Sian Elias is being appointed because of her outstanding legal ability, her empathy with the community in all its diversity and the leadership and
foresight she will bring to this role," Mrs Shipley said.

"At the age of 50, she is in the vanguard of a new generation of leaders in the New Zealand judiciary. She is a modern judge with a strong sense
of the challenges New Zealand will face in the future."

Justice Elias was admitted to the Bar in 1970. She has appeared in a wide range of courts and tribunals including the Court of Appeal and the
Privy Council, and served as counsel in one of the most long and complex commercial cases in New Zealand, the Equiticorp case.

She served both as defence counsel and a prosecutor before her appointment as a High Court judge in 1995.

"Perhaps the most outstanding contribution Sian Elias has made to New Zealand law is her advocacy on behalf of Maori before the courts and
the Waitangi Tribunal," Mrs Shipley said.

"That took vision, courage and commitment. The respect she has built among Maori as a result of that work is of lasting importance for us all."

Mrs Shipley also paid tribute to Justice Elias's commitment to human rights and community work, including neighbourhood law office work and a
period as a director of the Environmental Defence Society.

Mrs Shipley paid tribute to Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, who has been Chief Justice since 1989.

"His learning, his intellect and his passionate commitment to judicial independence will be long remembered," she said.

"The appointment of Justice Elias, following Sir Thomas's term, continues the high standards of integrity and commitment that New Zealanders
expect of the judiciary."

Inquiries: John Goulter 025 232 4303

NOTE
A copy of Justice Elias's CV is attached

SIAN ELIAS

Born 12 March 1949.
Educated Titirangi Primary School (1954-1960), Diocesan High School for
Girls (Auckland) (1960-1965), Auckland University (1966-1969), Stanford
University (California) (1970-1972). Degrees: LL.B (Hons) (Auckland); J.S.M. (Stanford).
Married 1970.
Tutor, Law School, University of Auckland 1970.
Admitted to bar 1970.
Staff solicitor Turner Hopkins & Partners 1972-1975.
Two sons, born 1975 and 1976.
Tutor Manukau Technical Institute in family law for Community Worker's certificate mid-1970s.
Practised part-time as a barrister 1975-1981. Assisted at Grey Lynn Neighbourhood Law Office.
Began full-time practice as a barrister 1981, appearing in a wide range of New Zealand Courts and Tribunals including the Court of Appeal and
Privy Council, the Maori Appellate Court, the Environment Court and the Waitangi Tribunal.
(For description of practice, see below).
Member of the Working Party on the Environment 1984.
Motor Spirits Licensing Appeal Authority 1985 until deregulation.
Member of the New Zealand Law Commission 1985-1989 (responsibility for Report No. 9 Company Law Reform and Restatement).
Queen's Counsel 1988.
1989 Chairman Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into the Health Consequences of the ICI Fire (report to Minister of Health January 1990).
Joint convenor 1990 Commonwealth Law Conference (held in Auckland).
Judge of the High Court 1995.
1998-1999 warranted from time to time to sit on the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Court of Appeal.

Membership Law Society Committees (1975-1995)
Auckland District Law Society committees: Family Law, Women Members, Public Issues, Working Party on Women in the Profession,
Continuing Legal Education.
New Zealand Law Society committees: New Legislation Committee, Commonwealth Law Conference and Triennial Conference 1990.
Community activities
Environmental organisations (no longer current): Waitakere Ranges Protection Society (early 1980s); Director Environmental Defence Society
(mid-1980s).
Educational: Member University of Auckland Council since 1995, Trustee Auckland Girls' Grammar Centennial Trust.
Arts: Trustee Colin McCahon Trust.

Professional Practice pre-appointment
Appeared as counsel in litigation in fields of public and private law.

Treaty of Waitangi litigation and Waitangi Tribunal claims for a number of tribal interests including Tainui (Huakina Development Trust v
Waikato Valley Authority [1987] 2 NZLR 188 and the Manukau claim to the Waitangi Tribunal), the Whanganui tribes (the claim for the
Whanganui River), Te Arawa (the geothermal claim), Moriori (the Chathams claim), Muriwhenua (the fisheries claim), Ngati Pahauwera
(the claim to the Mohaka River), and the major litigation in relation to lands, forests, fisheries, the Maori electorate option and the use of the
Maori language in broadcasting brought by the New Zealand Maori Council, the Maori Women's Welfare League and Nga
Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo (including NZMC v Attorney-General [1987] 1 NZLR 641 (CA); New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General
[1994] NZLR 513 (PC); Taiaroa v Minister of Justice [1995] 1 NZLR 411 (CA).)
Environmental litigation, including EDS v Mangonui County Council [1989] 3 NZLR 257 (CA).
Public interest litigation, including (as junior counsel) in Finnigan and Recordon v New Zealand Rugby Union Inc [1985] 2 NZLR 159.
Criminal jury and summary trials, including as prosecuting counsel for the Serious Fraud Office and as defence counsel.
Human Rights litigation including Coburn v Human Rights Commission [1994] 3 NZLR 323.
Commercial litigation, including as one of the two senior counsel for the plaintiffs in Equiticorp Industries Limited (In Statutory
Management) v the Crown [1998] 2 NZLR 481.

Principal papers
"A Bill of Rights for New Zealand". 1971. Unpublished dissertation. (Auckland University)
"Integration of the Legal Systems of the European Community". 1972.
Unpublished research paper. (Stanford University).
"The Treaty of Waitangi and Separation of Powers in New Zealand" in Courts and Policy: Checking the Balance, ed. Gray and McClintock,
1995, Wellington.
"Hard Look and the Judicial Function" (1996) 4:2 Waikato Law Review 1.