New Supreme Court judge appointed

The President of the Court of Appeal, Sir William Young, has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.

The new Court of Appeal president will be Mark O'Regan.

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson announced the appointments today.

The appointment of Justice Young brings the number of Supreme Court judges to six, including the Chief Justice, the maximum number under law.

Justice Young graduated from the University of Canterbury and Cambridge University. He joined a Christchurch law firm in 1978 and left it in 1988 to practise as a barrister.

He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1991, a High Court judge in 1997 and a judge of the Court of Appeal in 2003. He became President of the Court of Appeal in 2006.

Justice O'Regan graduated from Victoria University in Wellington. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court in 1977 and became a partner in a law firm in 1984. He was appointed a High Court judge in 2001 and a judge of the Court of Appeal in 2004.

The appointments take effect on July 1.

- NZPA