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Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson is attending the fourth annual Quintet meeting of Attorneys-General, being held in Ottawa, Canada, this week.

The annual meeting is also being attended by the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice of Australia, Hon Jason Clare; the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of Canada, Hon Rob Nicholson PC QC; the Attorney-General of England, Ireland and Wales, the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC, and the United States Attorney-General, Eric Holder Jr. It is taking place on the 15th of June.

This morning Labour MP Annette King appeared on television and made allegations about the Operation Eight investigation which occurred when she was Police Minister.

There are three on-going matters in the trials arising out of that operation:

1. The defendants’ sentencing on the firearms charges where guilty verdicts were returned;

2. The possibility of the defendants appealing those guilty verdicts; and

Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson has welcomed the findings of a review of the scope and focus of the Solicitor-General’s role and the operating model of Crown Law, released today.

The review, by Auckland barrister Miriam Dean QC and Simpson Grierson Special Counsel David Cochrane, was commissioned by Mr Finlayson in October last year. The role of the Solicitor-General had previously been looked at in 1986 and 2006.

Solicitor-General David Brian Collins QC has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice Collins graduated with an LLB (Hons) (First Class) from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, subsequently gaining an LLM in 1976 and an LLD in 1993, also both from Victoria University.

The Governor-General has amended the reporting dates for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failure caused by Canterbury Earthquakes, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

The Royal Commission’s report will now be delivered in parts, to allow the fullest examination of important issues while allowing the rebuild of Christchurch to proceed without unnecessary delay.

On Cabinet’s advice, the Governor-General has extended the reporting date for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River mine tragedy to 28 September 2012, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

The Commissioners were originally due to report back by 31 March 2012, but approached Government requesting an extension late last year.

Auckland litigator Murray Ashley Gilbert SC has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice Gilbert graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1977. In 1976 he joined Kensington Swan in Auckland as a law clerk, later becoming a partner in 1985. In 1996 he became a partner with Chapman Tripp. He left to form the partnership Gilbert Walker with Campbell Walker in 2004.

In 2008 Justice Gilbert was appointed Senior Counsel.

The Honourable Justice Robert Chambers has been appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice Chambers graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1975, and in 1978 gained a doctorate from the University of Oxford. He commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1981 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1992. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 1999 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2004.

The Honourable Justice Douglas White has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice White, a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, joined Young Bennett & Co after a stint working for the Law Commission in London. He later became a partner of that firm and then Young Swan Morison McKay (now Kensington Swan). He commenced practice as a barrister in 1986 and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1988. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court, based in Auckland, in 2009.