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2021 N.Z. L. Rev. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/newzlndlr2021 and id is 1 raw text is: 1 Finding the New Zealand Judiciary JESSICA KERR* The New Zealand judiciary is a vital constitutional institution, and its legitimacy depends on maintaining public confidence. Yet there is a significant degree ofpublic-facing ambiguity about what, or who, that institution includes. This article surveys the ways in which the judiciary and its constituent members are presented and regulated by the New Zealand government in the wake of the 2016 courts reforms. Senior judges have dominated regulatory and critical attention, reflecting their particular constitutional role, but a concern with the legitimacy of judicial power requires a broader focus. The discussion therefore extends from inferior judges to various non- judge and non-court adjudicators, including in the tribunal system, as potential candidates for inclusion in the modern judiciary. It considers evidence for and against their inclusion, in and beyond the current statute book, and invites critical reflection on whether conventional understandings of the judiciary as the judges may be increasingly under-inclusive. I Introduction The Constitution Act 1986 affirms the existence in New Zealand of an institution called the judiciary. The independent operation of this institution, under the leadership of the Chief Justice,' is regarded as fundamental to New Zealand's constitutional order.2 Public confidence in the judiciary is *BA/LLB(Hons) (VUW), LLM (Yale). PhD candidate and sessional teacher inthe Law School of the University of Western Australia. This research is supported through an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The author is grateful to Natalie Skead and Sarah Murray, and to two anonymous referees, for their insights and suggestions. 1 Senior Courts Act 2016, s 89. 2 A classic statement is Robin Cooke Fundamentals [1988] NZLJ 158.