Sir John Hugh Williams (born 23 September 1939), generally known as Hugh Williams, is a former president of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and a retired judge of the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...

. From 2016 to 2022 he was

Chief Justice of the Cook Islands The Chief Justice of the Cook Islands is the head of the Cook Islands judiciary. They preside over the High Court of the Cook Islands and serve as a member of the Cook Islands Court of Appeal. The office was established by the Cook Islands Co ...

Early life

Williams was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

and

Gisborne Boys' High School Gisborne Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was founded as a co-educational school in 1909 as Gisborne High School. In 1956, the school became Gisborne Boys' High School when it was split into two ...

, and graduated with an LLM (Hon) degree from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Career

Williams was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1988 and a High Court

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

in 1997. He was the Senior Puisne Judge and was a Master (Associate Judge) of the High Court for 6 previous years. He was the longest serving Judge based at the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

for many years, until he retired on 22 September 2009. Williams was the Criminal List Judge for Auckland, and presided over many high-profile trials, including the 2007 trials of Darin Gardner and Roger Kahui. Williams was Chancellor of

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

from 1990 to 1997, and a city councillor for Palmerston North City from 1983 to 1989. He is a former president of the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...

, and a current trustee of the Kea Conservation Trust. In 2009, he was appointed president of the Electoral Commission and succeeded

Andrew McGechan Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

. In 2010, he became chair of the new

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. After serving from 2009 as a Cook Islands High Court judge he was appointed in 2016

. He retired as Chief Justice in December 2022 and was replaced by Patrick Keane.

Honours

Williams was conferred an honorary doctorate ( DLit) by Massey University in 1998. In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Williams was appointed an Additional

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services as a judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Hugh Living people 1939 births New Zealand jurists High Court of New Zealand judges New Zealand King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Victoria University of Wellington alumni People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School Chancellors of Massey University Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Chief justices of the Cook Islands