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The Court of Appeal of the Cook Islands is the superior court of record for the Cook Islands. It hears appeals from the High Court of the Cook Islands and was established by Article 56 of the Constitution of the Cook Islands. [1]
The judiciary is headed by the President of the Court of Appeal or, in the President's absence, the Chief Justice of the High Court or the judge with the highest seniority. The judges have seniority based on their date of first appointment to a court in the Cook Islands or elsewhere. [1] Decisions can be made by a panel of any three judges and require a majority vote of the panel. [2] A judge cannot hear an appeal for a decision which they made or by a court on which they sit. [1]
A judge cannot be appointed to the Court of Appeal unless they have been a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, the High Court of New Zealand, or the High Court of the Cook Islands. A judge can also be appointed by the King's Representative if so advised by the Executive Council and the Prime Minister. [1]
Most sittings of the Court of Appeal take place in New Zealand. [3]
The Court of Appeal can hear appeals from the High Court subject to the Constitution and the Judicature Act. These circumstances are where the High Court decides that the case involves a substantial question of law which relates to the interpretation or effect of the Constitution, where a criminal defendant has been given a fine of over $200 or sentenced to imprisonment for longer than six months, where a civil matter is more $400 or more, or there is a question involving any provision in Part IVA: Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Constitution. For any other case, the appeal can be heard with the permission of the High Court if it is of high importance. [2]
The Court of Appeal decision is final, but there is a right of appeal to the Privy Council with the consent of either the Court of Appeal or the Privy Council itself. [1]
The following are the judges of the Court of Appeal as of December 2016: [4]
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the King or Queen's Representative, was the Head of State; the prime minister is the head of government of a multi-party system. The nation is self-governing and are fully responsible for internal and foreign affairs. Since 2001, the Cook Islands has run its own foreign and defence policy. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislatures.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King-in-Council, the Privy Council formerly acted as the court of last resort for the entire British Empire, other than for the United Kingdom itself.
The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation.
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London. It was created with the passing of the Supreme Court Act 2003, on 15 October 2003. At the time, the creation of the Supreme Court and the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council were controversial constitutional changes in New Zealand. The Supreme Court Act 2003 was repealed on 1 March 2017 and superseded by the Senior Courts Act 2016.
The Order of precedence in New Zealand is a guide to the relative seniority of constitutional office holders and certain others, to be followed, as appropriate at State and official functions. The previous order of precedence was revoked and Queen Elizabeth II approved the following Order of Precedence in New Zealand effective 20 September 2018:
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law.
The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal has existed as a separate court since 1862 but, until 1957, it was composed of judges of the High Court sitting periodically in panels. In 1957 the Court of Appeal was reconstituted as a permanent court separate from the High Court. It is located in Wellington.
Sir Kenneth James Keith is a New Zealand judge. He was elected to the International Court of Justice in November 2005, serving a nine-year term during the years 2006 through 2015.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British Overseas Territories. It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.
The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea has been the highest court of Papua New Guinea since 16 September 1975, replacing the pre-Independence Supreme Court and the overseas appellate tribunals from 1902 to 1975 of the High Court of Australia and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Judges of the pre-Independence Supreme Court automatically became the first justices of the National Court and accordingly among the pool of judges that were available to be empanelled as a Supreme Court bench.
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, plus one stand-alone registry.
Mai Chen is a New Zealand and Harvard educated lawyer with a professional and specialist focus in constitutional and administrative law, Waitangi tribunal and courts, human rights, white collar fraud and regulatory defence, judicial review, regulatory issues, education law, and public policy and law reform. Chen is a barrister and holds an office in the Public Law Toolbox Chambers. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Auckland School of Law. Having served previously in the university's Business School. Chen is also the Chair of New Zealand Asian Leaders, SUPERdiverse WOMEN and the Superdiversity Institute for Law, Policy and Business. She is married to Dr John Sinclair and the two have one son.
Sir John Steele Henry is a New Zealand jurist and former Court of Appeal judge, and member of the well-known Henry family.
Sir John Hugh Williams, generally known as Hugh Williams, is a former president of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and a retired judge of the High Court of New Zealand. From 2016 to 2022 he was Chief Justice of the Cook Islands.
The Chief Justice of the Cook Islands is the head of the Cook Islands judiciary. They preside over the High Court of the Cook Islands and serve as a member of the Cook Islands Court of Appeal. The office was established by the Cook Islands Constitution.
The judiciary of Solomon Islands is a branch of the Government of Solomon Islands that interprets and applies the laws of Solomon Islands, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The legal system is derived from chapter VII, part II of the Constitution, adopted when the country became independent from the United Kingdom in 1978. The Constitution provided for the creation of a High Court, with original jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, and a Court of Appeal. It also provided for the possibility of "subordinate courts", with no further specification (art.84).
The judiciary of New Zealand is responsible for the system of courts that interprets and applies the laws of New Zealand. It has four primary functions: to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution; to deliver authoritative rulings on the meaning and application of legislation; to develop case law; and to uphold the rule of law, personal liberty and human rights. The judiciary is supported in its work by an executive department, the Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary of the Cook Islands is a system of courts that interprets and applies the laws of the Cook Islands. The judiciary has three levels: the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council serves as the final court of appeal. The Cook Islands Court of Appeal hears appeals from the High Court. The High Court of the Cook Islands deals with criminal and civil cases, as well as land cases under customary law. Minor crimes are heard in the High Court by Justices of the Peace.
The High Court of the Cook Islands is the court of first instance in the Cook Islands. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility under the Constitution of the Cook Islands for the administration of justice in the Cook Islands. The Court is established by part IV of the Constitution of the Cook Islands.
The New Zealand Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent Crown entity that was set up under the Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019 to investigate potential miscarriages of justice. If the Commission considers a miscarriage may have occurred, it can refer the case back to the Court of Appeal to be reconsidered.