New Zealand’s Supreme Court is currently under fire for a lack of transparency and is yet to release the full extent of the allegations made against it.
The Supreme Council of the New Zealand Government has released the full list of allegations against the Court, but only a fraction of the full text is publicly available.
One allegation is that Chief Justice Judith Collins has used the position of Chief Justice to push her own agenda, while another is that the Supreme Council’s “primary function is to advise the Government on matters of national interest, not to provide judicial advice”.
A spokesman for the Supreme Court told RTE: “The New Zealand Supreme Court has been transparent about its process for selection and selection committees.
The Council has also released the list of matters it has investigated.”
The spokesman added that the New York Supreme Court was “currently under investigation” and that “it will release its report by the end of the year”.
But when asked by RTE to clarify what those findings were, a spokesperson for the New South Wales Supreme Court said: “We are not aware of any information that has been released to the public.”
When asked if the Supreme Committee had made any recommendations to the Government, the spokesman said: “…
We do not comment on any internal deliberations.”
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was “not aware of this particular investigation”, but that the Government would “continue to review the process and report back to the New Parliament”.
The Supreme Court spokesman said the Government was reviewing its processes for selecting and appointing judges and that it would “provide the full details on its findings”.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Supreme Judicial Council of New Zealand said: The Court is required by law to publicly release its list of alleged misconduct.
The list is the sole means of providing that information to the general public and is an integral part of our public service.
The court has also made a commitment to ensure that the list is as comprehensive as possible.
In addition, it said the Court was undertaking a review of its processes and processes to ensure they do not contravene the New Law, including ensuring the court’s website is as transparent as possible and that the public has access to its list.
The council has been the subject of criticism over the past year after the release of a confidential report into a sexual harassment case against the New Zealander.
While the court has not published a full list, the full allegations against Collins and other members of the Supreme Cabinet were made public by a former senior member of the Court’s Advisory Council.
RNZ’s Paul O’Connell reported from Wellington and Jonathan Riddell from Auckland.