A new report shows the "striking" disparity between men and women in the job - but what's behind it? First published by RNZ.

New Zealand’s justice system is “under considerable stress”, with not enough judges and courtrooms among a number of issues.

The propensity for AI systems to make mistakes and for humans to miss those mistakes has been on full display in the US legal system as of late. The follies began when lawyers—including some at prestigious firms—submitted documents citing cases that didn’t exist. Similar mistakes soon spread to other roles in the courts. In December, a Stanford professor submitted sworn testimony containing hallucinations and errors in a case about deepfakes, despite being an expert on AI and misinformation himself.

This is the fifth report in a series that started in 2014 and covers all salaried and fee-paid judicial office-holders in the three separate jurisdictions of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

In times of national crisis, the measure of a judge often extends beyond jurisprudence. One of the most powerful recent examples comes from Ukraine, where Supreme Court Judge Ivan Mishchenko has moved between the courtroom and the frontline with purpose, humility, and resolve.

In a notable international judicial appointment, retired New Zealand Supreme Court Justice William Young has been confirmed as a non-permanent overseas judge of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. The endorsement by Hong Kong lawmakers on 5 June 2025 marks a continued link between New Zealand’s legal excellence and key global jurisdictions.

The New Zealand High Court continues to be strengthened with the recent appointment of three distinguished legal professionals to the bench. These appointments reflect a continued investment in judicial depth, regional representation, and legal leadership across complex domains.

Although considerable efforts have been made to reduce delays, the judiciary does not hold all the levers necessary to eliminate them. Significant systemic constraints are at play, particularly around judicial resourcing. There is a clear need for more judges in the District Court, High Court, and Court of Appeal. For example, the statutorily imposed limit on the number of judges that can be appointed to the High Court and Court of Appeal has not been raised since 2004.
— Winkelmann CJ, NZLS Speech, May 2025

News of judicial leniency towards migrants sparked outrage in the UK last week, as a Pakistani migrant was allowed to stay in the UK after claiming to be gay — despite being convicted of sexual assault for groping a woman.

Ministers will rush through an emergency law to block the ‘two-tier’ justice rules and are considering curtailing the powers of the Sentencing Council.

Ethnic minority and transgender criminals may be more likely to avoid prison under changes to sentencing guidelines that take effect next month.

Offenders would not need to show they were members of ethnic, cultural or other minorities to be considered for lighter punishment.

New guidance sent to UK judges late last month said they should consider the background of members of ethnic and religious minorities when deciding whether to impose a custodial or community sentence.

The winner of our 5 executive orders is here! Read their orders.

Like here in Aotearoa, the uncodified nature of the United Kingdom constitution offers great flexibility — but it relies heavily on the executive to respect its conventions. Perhaps some lessons for home.

Isleworth Crown Court will close five of its fourteen courtrooms from March because of the cap on the number of "sitting days" the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is prepared to fund, according to a note from the court’s resident judge in west London.

OK, this really must stop. But we couldn’t resist sharing this collection sent in by a dear reader. Last one — promise. Nothing on Mr T next issue. Nada. Nothing. Hugest nothing ever. We have no cards left to play.

Plans to block “excessive” challenges to planning decisions in large infrastructure projects will continue the Conservatives’ attack on judicial review and risk increasing costs, lawyers warn, but lawyers are split on whether this could stifle scrutiny.

What the president did on his first day is nothing compared to what I’d do Autocorrect, artificial grass, and call centres — all would be banned under President Gerard.