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Story: Judicial system

Supreme Court Judges Act 1858

The Supreme Court Judges Act 1858 guaranteed the tenure of judges 'during good behaviour'. Freedom from unreasonable dismissal was an important element of judicial independence, and had been introduced in Britain in 1701 to prevent the monarch from dismissing judges on a whim.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: New Zealand Statutes, 1858, pp. 99-100.

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Philip A. Joseph and Thomas Joseph, Judicial system – Judicial independence, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/33956/supreme-court-judges-act-1858 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Philip A. Joseph and Thomas Joseph, published 25 May 2012, updated 11 October 2016.