New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Investigator appointment

Legal area

Court

18 Dec 2020

VANDERVIS v DUNEDIN CITY COUNCIL [2020] NZHC 3436

Citation

[2020] NZHC 3436
Court

High Court

The Court held the investigator panel was validly appointed, the Chief Executive properly made the complaint in her employer role, Mr Benham was authorised to investigate, and the investigation and subsequent Council hearing complied with natural justice; any minor procedural imperfections were cured by the full investigation and the Council meeting where the applicant had ample opportunity to be heard. The judicial review application was dismissed and costs were reserved.
13 Aug 2019

A LAWYER v NEW ZEALAND LAW SOCIETY [2019] NZHC 1961

Citation

[2019] NZHC 1961
Court

High Court

The Court held that the Committee's decisions to inquire and to appoint an investigator were preliminary investigatory steps within the statutory complaints scheme and not ordinarily amenable to judicial review absent exceptional circumstances; here the investigation was at an information‑gathering stage, the interim report was expressly preliminary and the applicant retained statutory remedies (LCRO review and later appeal), so judicial review was premature and the application was dismissed.