Extensions issued for acting judges David Collins, Christine Gordon, Robert Osborne
Helen Winkelmann, chief justice, has announced the appointment of Susan Glazebrook as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the extension of the acting warrants of David Collins, Christine Gordon, and Robert Osborne.
Specifically, the extended acting warrants covered Collins as an acting judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, as well as Gordon and Osborne as acting judges of the High Court of New Zealand.
According to a media statement from the courts of New Zealand, with the attorney-general’s advice, the governor-general made these appointments to address the courts’ workload.
The media statement noted that:
The courts’ website provided more information about Justice Glazebrook and Justice Collins.
From 2021–23, Glazebrook served as president of the International Association of Women Judges. In 2014, she became a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the judiciary.
From 2007–12, she chaired the Institute of Judicial Studies/Te Kura Kaiwhakawā, which is responsible for judicial education in New Zealand. From 2002–10, she belonged to the Advisory Council of Jurists for the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.
Before joining the bench, Glazebrook worked as a partner at a large commercial law firm. She served as president of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association in 1998. She was a member of multiple commercial boards and government advisory committees.
She has been a distinguished alumni of the University of Auckland/Waipapa Taumata Rau, a distinguished fellow of Victoria University of Wellington Law School/Te Herenga Waka - Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture, and an honourary bencher of the Middle Temple.
Upon retiring from the bench in March 2024, Collins accepted a warrant to sit as an acting Court of Appeal judge until March 2026. He became a High Court judge in 2012 and a Court of Appeal judge in April 2019.
In September 2006, Collins accepted an appointment as solicitor-general. He received a Queen’s Counsel designation in 2000 and joined the independent bar in 1996. He became a partner in the firm currently known as Rainey Collins in 1985.
He was president of the Wellington Law Society, chairman of the Accident Compensation Corporation, chairman of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and executive vice president of the World Association of Law and Medicine.
From Victoria University of Wellington, Collins obtained an LLD in 1993, an LLM in 1976, and an LLB (first-class honours) in 1975. He also holds an LLM-JS from Duke University in the US.
