One judge is appointed to the High Court’s Land Division while two will sit in the court’s General Division.
Three New Zealand judges have been appointed to the High Court of the Cook Islands.
Justices Craig Coxhead, Patrick Keane and Jane Lovell-Smith have been given part-time appointment in Rarotonga. Their appointments bring the total number of judges sitting in the High Court of the Cook Islands to 10.
Judge Coxhead, who has been a judge of the Maori Land Court in New Zealand since 2008, will sit in the Land Division of the Cook Islands court. Judge Coxhead was appointed judge in Niue in 2011.
Judge Keane, who recently ended his stint as a judge of the New Zealand High Court since 2003, will sit in the General Division of the Cook Islands court. Judge Keane is also a former District Court judge as well as a member of the New Zealand Law Commission from 2001 to 2003.
Judge Lovell-Smith, who is currently the executive judge of the District Court in Manukau, will also sit in the General Division of the Cook Island court. Lovell-Smith has been a district court judge since 1994. She has long mentored magistrates in the Cook Islands who observe in the District Court of Manukau.
