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Summarised by Centrist
A judicial conduct panel has ruled that Judge Ema Aitken committed a “serious breach of comity” during a 2024 confrontation with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at Auckland’s Northern Club, but found her conduct did not meet the threshold required for removal from office.
The incident occurred at a New Zealand First event at the Northern Club in Auckland in November 2024, where Judge Aitken was accused of interrupting Peters’ speech, yelling at him, and calling him a liar.
Aitken denied yelling and said she did not recognise Peters or realise the gathering was a political event. NZ First MP Casey Costello, who was present, told the panel she believed Aitken “must have known that it was Winston Peters who was speaking.”
The Judicial Conduct Panel concluded that Aitken’s behaviour amounted to a “serious breach of comity,” a principle requiring mutual respect between the judiciary, executive, and legislature.
However, the panel found her actions “fell short of the high threshold of ‘misbehaviour’ necessary to warrant consideration of her removal.”
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith released the panel’s decision and confirmed Judge Aitken will remain an acting District Court judge until her warrant expires in February 2027.
Judge Aitken’s lawyer, David Jones KC, said he had only just received the decision and indicated it was unlikely his client would make a public statement, citing concerns about breaching the principle of comity.
Read more over at The NZ Herald and RNZ
