The panel will investigate Aitken's alleged conduct at an NZ First function last November
Acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken is the subject of an inquiry to be conducted by a judicial conduct panel, announced Acting Attorney-General Paul Goldsmith.
The inquiry will examine Aitken's supposed conduct at a New Zealand First event held at the Northern Club in Auckland on 22 November 2024. The judicial conduct commissioner had initiated a preliminary examination before recommending the establishment of a panel to conduct an inquiry, a recommendation accepted by Goldsmith.
"Following an inquiry, the panel will provide me with a report, including its opinion as to whether consideration of Judge Aitken’s removal is justified. Members of the panel will be appointed following consultation with the chief justice," Goldsmith said in a media release. "I won’t be making any further comment until then."
As reported by the NZ Herald, NZ First claimed in a Northern Club report that Aitken attempted to enter the event after she heard NZ First leader and ex-deputy prime minister Winston Peters speaking. Aitken had been attending a different function at the club.
NZ First said Aitken had shouted that Peters was "lying" and "How can you let him say that?"
Aitken contested the account, saying that she didn't recognize Peters' voice and wasn't aware that the event was a political one. She claimed that she had responded to a snippet of a speech about the teaching of tikanga at law school with an inaudible comment.
Attorney-General Judith Collins expressed her disgust over the incident in a letter to the judicial conduct commissioner last December. Goldsmith was appointed acting attorney-general on the matter to avoid perception of conflict of interest, bias or pre-determination, according to the Herald.
Speaking on behalf of Aitken, David PH Jones KC said in a statement published by the Herald that the judge intended to cooperate fully with the panel "notwithstanding the concerns she and others have about the process which has led to the panel being appointed."
