David Collins KC (born 18 March 1954) is a retired judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand.[1] He is an acting judge of the Court of Appeal until 18 March 2026.[2] He was the Solicitor-General of New Zealand from 1 September 2006 to 15 March 2012, before being made a judge of the High Court in 2012.[3][4]
David Collins KC | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the Court of Appeal | |
| In office 1 April 2019 – 19 March 2024 | |
| Solicitor-General of New Zealand | |
| In office 2006–2012 | |
| Preceded by | Terence Arnold |
| Succeeded by | Michael Heron |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 March 1954 |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington Duke University School of Law |
Education
editCollins graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a LL.B.(Hons) (1st Class) in 1975 and an LL.M. in 1976. He was awarded an LL.D. by Victoria University in 1993. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Law at Victoria University.[5] He also has a LL.M. Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law in the United States.[6]
Professional qualifications
editCollins was admitted to the New Zealand Bar in 1976. He was admitted to the State of Victoria Bar and the High Court of Australia Bar in 1986. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2000.[7]
Career
editUpon graduating from Victoria University in 1975, Collins took up a three-month research position at Rhyne & Rhyne in Washington DC. After this role concluded he returned to New Zealand and completed his LL.M. He commenced a two-year clerkship for the Judges of the High Court and Court of Appeal of New Zealand between 1976 and 1978.
In 1979, Collins commenced practicing law in Wellington as a solicitor for Chapman Tripp. In 1982 he was admitted to partnership in a firm that subsequently merged and is today known as Rainey Collins. He remained at the firm until 1995. In 1996 he left practice to become a barrister. During this period he conducted several appeals before the Privy Council in London. He took silk in 2000.
Prior to his appointment as Solicitor-General, Collins was Chair of the Accident Compensation Commission, and Chair of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. Collins has served terms as President of the Wellington District Law Society, vice-president of the New Zealand Law Society, and Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Governors, World Association of Law and Medicine.[5] In 2006, Collins was appointed Solicitor-General. He remained in this role until he was appointed a High Court Judge.[5]
He appeared as senior counsel in over 30 Supreme Court and Privy Council decisions, including:
- [permanent dead link] North Shore City Council v Attorney-General [The Grange] [2011] 1 NZLR 296 (SC)
- Chapman v Attorney-General[permanent dead link] [2011] NZSC 110
- R v Gwaze[permanent dead link] [2010] 3 NZLR 734 (SC)
- Saxmere Company Ltd v Wool Board Disestablishment Company Ltd[permanent dead link] [2010] 1 NZLR 35, 76 (SC)
- Bain v R [2009] UKPC 4
- Phipps v RACS [2000] 2 NZLR 513 (PC)
- R v Ramstead [1999] 2 AC 92, [1999] 1 NZLR 513 (PC)
- Treaty Tribes Coalition and Others v Urban Maori Authority [1997] 1 NZLR 513 (PC)
Collins has authored a textbook,[8] and has been a contributory author for three other texts.[9][10][11] He has written a number of articles.
Interests
editCollins has been actively involved in mountaineering and tramping.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Appointment of Judge of the Court of Appeal". The Beehive.
- ^ "Appointment of Acting Judges of the Court of Appeal" (PDF). The Courts of New Zealand.
- ^ "Appointment of Dr David Collins QC as High Court Judge". Beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ "Solicitor General appointed High Court judge". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ a b c "Appointment of Dr David Collins QC as High Court Judge | Scoop News". Scoop.co.nz. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ Durham, Duke Law 210 Science Drive Box 90362; Office613-7006, NC 27708. "Duke Law Graduation 2018 – Justice David Collins MJS '18 – Duke University School of Law". law.duke.edu.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Appointment of Dr David Collins QC as High Court Judge". Beehive.govt.nz. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ a b Collins, David (1992). Medical Law in New Zealand. Brooker & Friend.
- ^ The Welfare State Today. Fourth Estate. 1977.
- ^ District Courts Practice (Criminal). Butterworths. 1994.
- ^ Festrchift Fur Erwin Deutsch. Carl Heymanns Verlag. 1999.