‘This report gives a sense of the range of the work that courts do’: Helen Winkelmann
Helen Winkelmann, New Zealand’s chief justice, has announced the release of her 2025 annual report, which discusses the efforts, roles, and responsibilities of the government’s judicial branch, the country’s courts, and their judges last year.
“This report gives a sense of the range of the work that courts do, and of the challenges that exist for their effective operation,” Winkelmann said in a media statement from the New Zealand courts.
According to the media statement, the annual report details judicial leaders’ priorities and initiatives, which aim to assist in modernising court systems and processes, advancing access to justice, and reducing court delays.
Winkelmann explained that the 2025 report seeks to help members of the public understand and examine how the country’s courts operate and are administered.
“Every day, in courtrooms across New Zealand, judges hear and determine disputes across the full range of the law,” Winkelmann said. “They resolve matters of great significance to individuals, whānau, communities and businesses.”
According to the New Zealand courts’ media statement, the annual report specifically touches upon the following:
Here are some other news stories revolving around the courts of New Zealand.
On 24 July 2026, Attorney-General Chris Bishop highlighted the appointment of Edward David (Ed) Crook, an Auckland-based barrister and solicitor, as a judge of the High Court of New Zealand sitting in Auckland as of 24 August 2026.
On 24 June 2026, Bishop announced the appointments of the following judges, effective 16 July 2026, following Justice Forrest Miller’s retirement from the Supreme Court of New Zealand: Neil Ross Campbell to the Supreme Court and David Gary Johnstone to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand.
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