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District Court of New Zealand

Field	Value
court_name	District Court of New Zealand
native_name	Te Kōti ā Rohe (Māori)
image	Coat of arms of New Zealand.svg
imagesize	200px
established	1980 (Magistrates' courts in 1893)
jurisdiction	New Zealand NZ
type	Appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Attorney-General
authority	District Court Act 2016
appealsto	High Court of New Zealand, Court of Appeal of New Zealand
terms	until age 70 (District Court Act 2016, s 28)
positions	133
website	districtcourts.govt.nz
chiefjudgetitle	Chief District Court Judge
chiefjudgename	Heemi Taumaunu
termstart	25 September 2019

The District Court of New Zealand () (formerly the district courts before 2016) is the primary court of first instance of New Zealand. There are 59 District Court locations throughout New Zealand (). The court hears civil claims of up to $350,000 and most criminal cases. It is governed by the District Court Act 2016, which replaced the earlier District Courts Act 1947 (formerly titled the Magistrates' Courts Act 1947) as well as the District Court Rules which are periodically revised by the Rules Committee.

The court was established in 1980 to replace magistrates' courts, which had dealt with minor criminal matters and civil claims since 1893. The establishment of the court was the result of the recommendations made in the 1978 report of the Royal Commission on the Courts. It was given an expanded jurisdiction and the Family Court was created as a division of the District Court in 1981.{{Cite web |access-date = 9 May 2011

In 2011, the New Zealand Attorney-General stated that the District Court was "the largest court in Australasia". The larger District Court locations operate on a daily basis, while others may only operate on a weekly or monthly basis, usually being serviced by judges from larger centres.{{Cite web |access-date = 9 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110510053739/http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/district/district/history |archive-date = 2011-05-10 |url-status = dead

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the District Court derives from the District Court Act 2016, which provides that the District Court can hear both criminal and civil proceedings.

The District Court's criminal jurisdiction is busier and arguably broader than any other court. Over 95% of all criminal trials, including jury trials on all but the most serious matters are heard in the District Court. Within its jurisdiction are offences ranging from very serious offending such as rape, aggravated robbery, and sexual violation down to minor offences such as disorderly behaviour. The only charges that cannot be heard by the District Court are category 4 offences, such as murder, manslaughter and crimes against the state (e.g. treason). The District Court cannot sentence a person to life imprisonment or to preventive detention; such cases require a transfer to the High Court for sentencing.

The District Court's civil jurisdiction allows the court to hear any matter where the amount in dispute is $350,000 or less. Civil claims where the amount is $30,000 or less are usually heard by the Disputes Tribunal rather than the District Court. Civil claims involve arguments over money and property and can include complex commercial transactions.

The District Court can hear appeals from some tribunals and authorities, including the Disputes Tribunal, Tenancy Tribunal and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) external review hearings.

Te Kooti Matariki, the Matariki Court, is a sentencing court for Māori adult offenders within the mainstream court system, under the District Court and operating under the Sentencing Act 2002. It is based in Kaikohe, Northland Region.

Judges

There are 133 District Court judges, including the Chief District Court Judge. Judges are permanently based in the main centres, but travel to other courts on circuit. While each District Court judge can preside over minor criminal matters, they each specialise in particular aspects of the District Court's jurisdiction, either jury trials, family or youth.{{Cite web |access-date = 9 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110510053744/http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/district/district/role |archive-date = 2011-05-10 |url-status = dead

Chief District Court judges

The following is a list of chief District Court judges since 1980.

Name	Portrait	Term of office
1	Desmond Sullivan
2	Peter Trapski
3	Silvia Cartwright	[[File:Silvia Cartwright 2017 (cropped).jpg	60px]]
4	Ron Young	[[File:Ron Young KNZM (cropped).jpg	60px]]
5	David Carruthers
6	Russell Johnson
7	Jan-Marie Doogue
8	Heemi Taumaunu

Locations

;District Court centres conducting jury trials

Kaikohe
Whangārei
Auckland
Manukau
Hamilton
Tauranga
Rotorua
Gisborne
Napier
New Plymouth
Whanganui
Palmerston North
Wellington
Nelson
Blenheim
Greymouth
Christchurch
Timaru
Dunedin
Invercargill

;District Court centres conducting judge-alone trials only

Alexandra
Ashburton
Chatham Islands
Dannevirke
Gore
Hastings
Hāwera
Huntly
Hutt Valley
Kaitaia
Levin
Masterton
Morrinsville
North Shore
Papakura
Porirua
Pukekohe
Queenstown
Taihape
Taumarunui
Taupō
Thames
Tokoroa
Wairoa
Waitākere District Court, located at Henderson
Westport
Whakatāne

;Hearings-only locations These locations are only open for hearings and trials. Their registry locations are noted in brackets.

Dargaville (Whangārei)
Kaikōura (Blenheim)
Marton (Whanganui)
Oamaru (Timaru)
Ōpōtiki (Whakatane)
Ruatoria (Gisborne)
Te Awamutu (Hamilton)
Te Kūiti (Hamilton)
Waihi (Tauranga)
Waipukurau (Hastings) ;Closed locations
Balclutha (closed March 2014, transferred to Dunedin)
Feilding (closed March 2013, transferred to Palmerston North)
Ohakune (Whanganui)
Rangiora (closed March 2014, transferred to Christchurch)
Warkworth (closed March 2013, transferred to North Shore)
Whataroa (closed March 2013, transferred to Greymouth) --

References

"Chief District Court Judge appointed".
(20 June 2012). "Judicial system". [[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]].
Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (NZ) s 73 http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2011/0081/latest/DLM3360137.html
Darise Bennington, "Judiciary bereft at sudden loss of Chief District Court Judge", ''NZ Lawyer'', 29 July 2011, p 1.
"Jurisdiction of the District Court". Ministry of Justice, New Zealand.
Toki, Valmaine. (30 July 2020). "Indigenous Courts". Oxford University Press.
"Matariki Court".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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