Harassment and bullying have no place in the New Zealand’s justice system, they say
Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, the New Zealand Law Society, and the New Zealand Bar Association have come out to condemn harassment and bullying in the New Zealand justice system.
The comments come after a survey by the country’s Criminal Bar Association found a high incidence of harassment and bullying in the judiciary, with 88.1% of respondents saying they have experienced or witnessed the behaviour. The survey also found that 64.71% said judges were the harassers or bullies, followed by colleagues (43.9%), opposing counsel (32.9%), client (31.4%), and employer (23.9%).
“Bullying of counsel is not acceptable. That is made clear in the ‘Guidelines for Judicial Conduct.’ If it is occurring, I and the heads of the bench want to know about it and we want to stop it,” she said.
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The chief justice said, however, that the survey was not clear whether the concerns about judges were limited to in-court conduct that are perceived as overbearing or belittling or whether it was conduct that is worse and should not be tolerated.
“If the proper standards are not observed, I encourage those who are affected or who have observed such behaviour to raise their concerns with the head of the bench or with me or to make a complaint to the Independent Judicial Conduct Commissioner,” Elias said.
To better understand concerns and steps to be taken to address them, the chief justice said that she will discuss the survey results with the Criminal Bar.
“We have no authority for investigating judicial conduct. However, when issues are raised with the Law Society we work to resolve these where possible and we raise such issues with the appropriate head of bench,” said Kathryn Beck, Law Society president.
Beck said that the courtroom is the workplace of criminal law lawyers.
“They, like everyone, are entitled to a working environment free from bullying, harassment, and prejudice,” she said. “As our chief justice has said, any bullying behaviour by members of the judiciary is completely unacceptable.”
The fact that the highest proportion of respondents said they experienced or witnessed harassment or bullying by judges cannot be ignored, Beck said.
“It is clear from the quick response from the chief justice that it is viewed extremely seriously,” she said. “It is an essential element of our justice system that judges have authority in the court. This must be exercised with respect for those appearing before them whether they are lawyers, plaintiffs, defendants or the court staff.”
The Law Society is also discussing the findings with the Criminal Bar. It said that it endorsed the chief justice’s comment that concerns should be raised with the head of the bench, the chief justice, or the Independent Judicial Conduct Commissioner.
“The New Zealand Law Society is also there to assist and support any lawyers who encounter problems,” Beck said.
“Her honour made the comments following the release of a Criminal Bar Association survey in which 64.7% of the respondents said they had experienced or witnessed harassment or bullying behaviour from judges,” the Bar said. “The NZBA encourages those experiencing any bullying, or harassment from the court or any other source to speak to a senior practitioner if they need assistance and support in dealing with the issue. The association provides support for those at the bar through its Bar Care Committee.”