NEW APPOINTMENT TO THE HIGH COURT
The Chief Justice welcomes the Attorney-General’s announcement today of the appointment of Auckland King’s Counsel Simon Mount as a Judge of the High Court.
Justice Mount’s appointment will take effect on 1 June 2025. He will sit in Auckland. He will be sworn in on Thursday 5 June 2025 at the Auckland High Court.
RETIREMENT OF JUSTICE MUIR
Justice Muir retires early after 10 years of judicial service. Justice Muir was appointed to the High Court in October 2014. The Chief Justice acknowledges and thanks Justice Muir for his outstanding contribution to the judiciary and to the administration of justice over the last 10 years.
BIOGRAPHY
Justice Simon Mount
Justice Mount graduated from the University of Auckland with an LLB (Hons) in 1996 and an LLM (Dist) in 2000. He was a High Court Judges’ Clerk from 1995 to 1996.
From 1997 to 1999 Justice Mount was a Teaching Associate with Columbia Law School in New York, also graduating with an LLM from Columbia Law School in 1999. He was a Teaching Fellow with the University of Auckland from 2001 to 2015.
He joined the Auckland Crown Solicitor’s office, Meredith Connell, in 2000 as a Crown Prosecutor, and spent a period seconded to Crown Law Office as a Crown Counsel from 2008 to 2009.
Justice Mount became a barrister sole in 2010, specialising in public law, criminal and regulatory law, including health and safety, professional discipline, and public inquiries. He was Senior Counsel Assisting the Abuse in Care Royal Commission from 2018 to 2024. He
served as a District Inspector of Mental Health from 2012 to 2018, the Senior Advisory
District Inspector from 2023, and a Visiting Justice from 2011 to 2018.
He is admitted to practise in the Cook Islands, and has been Attorney-General of the Pitcairn Islands since 2015. Justice Mount was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2017.
Helen Winkelmann
Chief Justice | Te Tumu Whakawā