Acting attorney-general also appoints Tim Stephens to a senior role
Paul Goldsmith, acting attorney-general, has announced the appointments of Brendan Brown, Jillian Mallon, and Jerry Mateparae as members of a Judicial Conduct Panel concerning the alleged conduct of Ema Aitken, acting District Court judge, at the Northern Club.
Goldsmith also appointed Tim Stephens as special counsel in the panel’s inquiry, according to a news release from the government, which provided more information on the new appointees.
This year, Brendan Brown accepted an appointment as a commissioner of intelligence warrants. A retired judge, he sat in New Zealand’s Court of Appeal from 2016–24 and High Court from 2013–24.
Before joining the bench, Brown served as counsel assisting the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. He acted for the Crown in the Wai 262 claims concerning Indigenous flora and fauna.
Justice Jillian Mallon has been a sitting judge of the Court of Appeal since 2023 and the High Court since 2006.
At the Wellington High Court, Mallon served as a list judge from 2017–23 and a member of its commercial panel, as well as managed its work under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.
Sir Jerry Mateparae is a member of the Council of Massey University. He served a United Nations appointment as the Bougainville external moderator from 2024–25.
Mateparae was chair of the Government Inquiry into the Response to the North Island Severe Weather Events from 2023–24, high commissioner to the UK from 2017–20, governor-general from 2011–16, and chief of defence force from 2006–11.
Tim Stephens is a barrister at Stout Street Chambers in Wellington with three decades of experience in commercial, regulatory, public law, and Treaty of Waitangi matters.
At the New Zealand Law Society, Stephens is a member of its Public Law Committee and was a convenor of its Law Reform Committee.
In the government’s news release, Goldsmith noted that the judicial conduct commissioner recommended on 22 November 2024 the creation of a panel to inquire into Aitken’s alleged acts at the Northern Club. Goldsmith accepted that recommendation.
Upon completing its inquiry, the panel will give Goldsmith a report with its opinion on whether it would be justified to consider Aitken’s removal.
“I won’t be making any further comment until then,” Goldsmith said in the news release.
Information from the justice ministry’s website explains that the three-member Judicial Conduct Panel possesses the same powers as a Commission of Inquiry. When examining a judge’s conduct, the panel should abide by natural justice principles.
Two panel members should be sitting or retired judges, with one of the two possibly being a senior lawyer. The remaining member should not be a past or present judge or a lawyer.
Meanwhile, the appointed special counsel has the task of presenting the case against the judge who is the subject of the inquiry.
