New Judges appointed
Attorney-General Margaret Wilson has announced the appointment of three new Judges. Peter Callinicos of Napier has been
appointed a Family Court Judge and will sit in Wanganui. Anne Kiernan and Dr Ajit Singh, both of Auckland, have been
appointed District Court Judges. Anne Kiernan will sit in Auckland and Dr Singh will sit in Manukau.
Peter Callinicos has worked for Callinicos Hayward and predecessor firms since admission in 1982. He has practised in a
wide range of areas, but with a focus on medical law and family law. He has handled some significant Waitangi Tribunal
and accident compensation cases and served as an independent reviewer for HIH Insurance.
Mr Callinicos has also played an impressive role in the community having held executive roles on St Joseph Maori Girls’
College Board of Trustees, the Hawkes Bay Ethnic Council, the Hawkes Bay Cultural Trust and the UNICEF New Zealand
Board. He served on the Council of the Hawkes Bay District Law Society for 13 years and has chaired the Hawkes Bay
Medico-Legal Society since 1992.
Mr Callinicos’ appointment is effective from November 22.
Anne Kiernan came to New Zealand from Ireland in the 1980s and was admitted to the Bar in New Zealand in 1988. The
following year she joined Meredith Connell in Auckland as a Crown Prosecutor. Her career since then has been mostly in
criminal prosecution work.
She returned to England twice, in 1991-92 and 1993-96, and for both periods was employed by the Crown Prosecution
Service. On each return to New Zealand she resumed employment with Meredith Connell, where she is now Senior Crown
Counsel undertaking criminal prosecution work and some civil litigation for the Police and other government agencies.
Anne Kiernan worked in publishing before coming to New Zealand, and her first appointment here was as Managing Editor at
Butterworths from 1986-88. Her appointment is effective from November 5.
Dr Singh came to New Zealand in 1987 from Fiji where he had been Deputy and Acting Solicitor-General. He was a senior
staff solicitor in Simpson Grierson and in 1990 became a partner in Macalister Mazengarb Perry Castle where he remained
until 1992. Since then he has practised in Auckland and South Auckland. Over this period he has been involved in
commercial and criminal law, mental health and medico-legal work, and immigration/refugee cases. He has conducted a
large number of jury trials.
Since 1999 Dr Singh has been District Inspector of Mental Health. He is a member of the Auckland District Law Society
Council and Convenor of the ADLS Criminal Law Committee, and a member of the NZ Law Society Council and the NZLS
Criminal Law Committee.
Dr Singh has been active in various Indian religious, cultural and social organisations. His appointment is effective
from November 4.