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Minter Ellison Rudd Watts NewsSir David Gascoigne Judicial Conduct Commissioner 6 August 2009
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is proud to congratulate Wellington based lawyer, Sir David Gascoigne, who has been appointed Judicial Conduct Commissioner for a five year term from 30 July 2009.
Sir David, a consultant and member of our firm’s board, began his career with Watts and Patterson, as it then was, where he became chairman of partners. He was a founding partner and subsequently national chairman of partners of the merged law firm Rudd Watts and Stone, which is now known as Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. The role of Commissioner will see Sir David oversee the handling of complaints about the behaviour and performance of sitting judges and will oversee the performance of the country’s judiciary. The position requires a person of high standing in the community with demonstrated integrity. The proposed appointee must be familiar with the role of the judiciary and with the principles of judicial independence, natural justice, and procedural fairness, and must be a good communicator. Sir David replaces Mr Ian Haynes ONZM, the inaugural Judicial Conduct Commissioner who tendered his resignation, effective from 12 July 2009, after serving four years of service in this role. The role of Judicial Conduct Commissioner was established by the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 and came into effect on 1 August 2005. The Commissioner is the first avenue for all complaints about Judges. The Commissioner carries out preliminary examination of complaints to determine whether a complaint will be dismissed or referred to the relevant Head of Bench, or is serious enough to warrant an investigation by a Judicial Conduct Panel. About Sir David Rendel Kingston Gascoigne Sir David Gascoigne is a lawyer and professional director. He has held a number of directorships in both the public and private sectors. He chairs the boards of both PSIS and Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, and has previously been a director of firms including Transpower, Sky City Leisure, Norwich Union Holdings, State Insurance Limited, and New Zealand Post.
Sir David has been Chair of Opera New Zealand since 2002 and has held numerous other governance roles in the creative sector, including sitting on the boards of the New Zealand Film Commission and Te Papa. In 2005 he chaired the Rugby World Cup 2011 Bid Advisory Committee, which oversaw the successful bid for the hosting of the tournament in New Zealand.
Sir David was one of the founding trustees of the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, and later its Executive Chair, and has been chair of Opera New Zealand since 2002. He was awarded the CBE in 1989 for his services to film and the DCNZM on 31 December 2005 for his services to the arts and business. Sir David was re-designated as a Knights Companion of the Order (KNZM), following the reinstatement of the titular honours on 1st August 2009. He received an inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award from Victoria University of Wellington in 2006.
Read the NZ Government 'Judicial Conduct Commissioner appointed' media release here. 
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