Judge Brown revolutionised youth justice

Mick Brown.

Pioneering Youth Court judge Mick Brown has died, aged 77.

Judge Brown, described by those who knew him as humble, compassionate and determined, revolutionised the New Zealand youth justice system with changes that were later emulated throughout the world.

A foster child who grew up to be a lawyer, Judge Brown spent his adult life giving back - to the young people who came through the Youth Court, and on various charitable trusts including the Auckland Cricket Association and the Child Development Foundation of New Zealand.

In 2013, he was awarded the Blake Medal for leadership - the supreme prize of the Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Awards. The citation said he had dramatically changed the juvenile court system and significantly improved outcomes.

During his time as the first Principal Youth Court Judge, he was responsible for the overhaul of the system from its punitive state in 1989 to a restorative one that continues today.

Family group conferences were introduced during his tenure, delegating responsibility to the family and the community, under the court's supervision.

"He presided over a revolution," said the current Principal Youth Court Judge, Andrew Becroft.

"It was a quiet revolution and it was a legal revolution and it was the introduction of a totally different paradigm of youth justice."

He said Judge Brown had left a "very long shadow".

"It's his vision that we still implement and we are very aware of the legacy that he's left us."

North & South once described Judge Brown as "the intellectual equivalent of Billy T. James", someone able to make points on sensitive issues without leaving scars, such was his rare mix of courage, compassion, personal history and humour.

Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias has said it was her privilege to know Mick Brown as a colleague and friend for more than 40 years.

He was "one of those truly rare people" who transformed the lives of others "through leadership by doing".