Sian Elias

The Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias GNZM PC QC
12th Chief Justice of New Zealand
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 May 1999
Nominated by	Jenny Shipley
Appointed by	Sir Michael Hardie Boys
Preceded by	Thomas Eichelbaum
Governor-General of New Zealand Acting
In office 23 August 2011 – 31 August 2011
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Anand Satyanand
Succeeded by	Jerry Mateparae
In office 4 August 2006 – 23 August 2006
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	Silvia Cartwright
Succeeded by	Anand Satyanand
In office 22 March 2001 – 4 April 2001
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Helen Clark
Preceded by	Michael Hardie Boys
Succeeded by	Silvia Cartwright
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-13) 13 March 1949 London, United Kingdom
Spouse(s)	Hugh Fletcher
Children	Edwin Benjamin
Alma mater	University of Auckland Stanford University
Profession	Barrister

Dame Sian Seerpoohi Elias (born 13 March 1949) GNZM PC QC is the 12th and current Chief Justice of New Zealand, and is therefore the most senior member of the country's judiciary. She is the presiding judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. As Chief Justice, she also acts as the Administrator of the Government (acting Governor-General) when the position of Governor-General is vacant or if the Governor-General is overseas. Elias has held the position of Administrator of the Government from 22 March 2001 until 4 April 2001, between the terms of Sir Michael Hardie Boys and Dame Silvia Cartwright, and again from 4 August 2006 until 23 August 2006 between Cartwright's term and that of Sir Anand Satyanand and at other times when the Governor-General has been unable to act (through absence from New Zealand or other cause).

Early life and family

Born in London in the United Kingdom of an Armenian father and a Welsh mother (hence her Welsh forename and surname), Elias attended Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. She completed a law degree from the University of Auckland in 1970, and then undertook further study at Stanford University. She took up employment with an Auckland law firm in 1972, beginning her career as a barrister three years later. She also served as a member of the Motor Sports Licensing Appeal Authority and of the Working Party on the Environment.

Elias is married to Hugh Fletcher, former CEO of Fletcher Challenge and a former Chancellor of the University of Auckland. In 1994, her brother-in-law, Jim Fletcher, was stabbed to death by an intruder in his Papamoa beach house.

Early judicial career

Elias served as a Law Commissioner from 1984 to 1988. She is also known for her work in relation to various Treaty-related cases. In 1990, she was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in recognition of her services. In 1988 she and Lowell Goddard were made the first women Queen's Counsel in New Zealand. Elias became a judge of the High Court in 1995, and occasionally sat on the Court of Appeal.

Appointment as chief justice

On 17 May 1999, Elias was sworn in as Chief Justice of New Zealand, the first woman to hold that position in New Zealand. She was appointed by Jenny Shipley, the first woman to be Prime Minister in New Zealand. Apparently Shipley made no secret of the fact to her colleagues that she was determined to appoint a woman as chief justice although no one in the legal profession disputes that Elias is up to the job. Before the Supreme Court was established in 2004, the Chief Justice was more of an administrative role, with the right to sit on any case. Once the Supreme Court replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal in New Zealand, Elias assumed the mantle of pre-eminent jurist as head of the Supreme Court.

Contentious cases

One of her most notable judgments as a High Court judge was in the David Lange vs Joe Atkinson defamation case which directly affected politicians. The final outcome on appeal was to give the news media a stronger defence against defamation actions by politicians.

Elias recused herself from a civil appeal case brought by Lisa Cropp. Cropp races horses owned by the Chief Justice and her husband. The appeal concerned the legality of the procedure that resulted in a positive test for methamphetamine and loss of standing to practice as a jockey. Supreme Court (Blanchard, Tipping, McGrath, Anderson and Gault JJ) dismissed the appeal.

Support for Maori Treaty claims

Elias is a heroic figure among those whose passion is Maori justice and has a reputation for compassion and humanity. In 1984, she helped Nganeko Minhinnick's Manukau Harbour claim to the Waitangi Tribunal. This led to work on other treaty cases, including a claim to prevent the Government selling radio frequencies, and the case challenging the 1994 Maori electoral option. This work gave her an appreciation of Maori custom and aspirations that she still fosters among the judiciary and in her private life. In June 2003 she was involved in a landmark case which allowed for the possibility that the Maori Land Court could issue freehold title over the foreshore and seabed. The subsequent legal uncertainties and upheavals in Maoridom dominated the political agenda for the next 18 months.

The Blameless Babes speech

In July 2009 Elias caused controversy with her remarks in the annual Shirley Smith address, organised by the Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Law Society's Women-in-Law committee. The annual lecture is given in honour of noted criminal defence lawyer, Shirley Smith, who argued that "[providing] a prison at the bottom of the cliff is not a solution. Criminals will just go on falling into it, at great cost to the community. We have to find out why blameless babes become criminals."

In her speech, Elias expressed concern about prison overcrowding and argued against what she described as the "punitive and knee-jerk" attitude of politicians towards the criminal justice system. She said prison overcrowding had to be managed to prevent "significant safety and human rights issues". She also said several other changes were needed in the criminal justice system including increased education and understanding by the community that, since "criminal justice processes are largely irrelevant to crime reduction", we need to address the causes not just the effects of crime. She said New Zealand needed greater focus on early intervention for youth and vulnerable families, improved mental health and drug and alcohol treatment, greater use of community-based sentences, and a fundamental rethink in the way the probation service monitors offenders.

As a final point, Elias said that unless New Zealand takes action to address the underlying causes of crime, Government may be forced into the position of using executive amnesties to reduce the growing number of prisoners. The chief justice's comments were widely reported in the media and led to a public rebuke from Simon Power, the Minister of Justice, who said: "The Chief Justice's speech does not represent Government policy in any way, shape or form".

External links

• Courts of New Zealand - The Current Chief Justice

Legal offices
Preceded by Thomas Eichelbaum	Chief Justice of New Zealand 1999–present	Incumbent
Government offices
Preceded by Michael Hardie Boys	Administrator of New Zealand 2001	Succeeded by Silvia Cartwright
Preceded by Silvia Cartwright	Administrator of New Zealand 2006	Succeeded by Anand Satyanand
Preceded by Anand Satyanand	Administrator of New Zealand 2011	Succeeded by Jerry Mateparae