MAGISTRACY

Magistrates' Courts

It is probable that no other court of summary jurisdiction in the British Commonwealth has anything like the extensive civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Court in New Zealand. Nor have Magistrates of other countries the many special jurisdictions and extra-judicial functions conferred on New Zealand Magistrates by statutory enactment. In fact, it is not too much to say that the Magistrates' Court in New Zealand during the present century has acquired a degree of public confidence which has raised it to a level not far below that of the superior Court.