Helen Cull has been appointed as judge of the High Court in Wellington, an announcement from New Zealand attorney-general Christopher Finlayson revealed yesterday.
The Wellington Queen’s Counsel was most recently the chief commissioner of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission where she administered about 65 probes.
Cull has also completed two International Court of Justice missions in addition to serving as the cease and desist commissioner under the Commerce Act and senior district inspector under the Mental Health Act.
She has headed 14 commissions of inquiry, including the Scampi Inquiry, the Adverse Medical Events Inquiry and the Fire Services Inquiry.
Her litigation experience runs the gamut from the District Court to the High Court, including appellate work in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
The new High Court judge received a LLB (Hons) degree from the
Victoria University of Wellington in 1978 before joining Brandons. She became a partner at Tripe Matthews and Feist in 1983 before leaving for the independent bar in 1990.
Cull was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1997.
