Supreme Court Judges still waiting for a home

A proxy war between the Government and judiciary over a building for the new Supreme Court is still to be resolved.

Judges were painted as precious after correspondence detailing a behind-the-scenes row over a proposal to convert the old High Court building in Wellington into premises for the Supreme Court revealed they had taken issue with the layout, room sizes and security.

But seven months on, the Government still has no answers.

"They continue to work in that ghastly little hovel which the District Court would be sniffy about because the judges have been impertinent enough to not toe the party line," said an Auckland barrister. "It's a scandal really.

"In the circumstances where the court depends entirely on the Government to provide the buildings, the Government has the upper hand and it will just continue to humiliate the court for as long as it chooses - or until it becomes a political issue."

The Treasury's December fiscal update said the Government was considering altering the 2003 design. Officials warned that this could increase building costs by $9 to $25 million, depending on the design selected.

The Treasury noted that Finance Minister Michael Cullen had yet to consider fully the "quantum of this risk". Last week, Cullen's office duckshoved the issue.

Prime Minister Helen Clark disputes speculation that the Government is delaying resolution of the issue to ram home a "keep quiet" message to the judiciary.

"It's all round the issue of whether the 'heritage building' of the old Wellington High Court is the suitable place for the Supreme Court or does it involve too much modification," she told the Herald.

Documents detailing the row were made public last August, shortly after Chief Justice Sian Elias raised concerns to a British House of Lords committee about resourcing for the Supreme Court, New Zealand's "ignorance" about the importance of judicial independence, and that such independence was at risk through politicians failing to grasp its constitutional significance.

Dame Sian had been critical of the renovation plans and suggested a re-assessment of the site's suitability.

The Historic Places Trust has been on the Government's case since 2002 to protect the building, which has fallen into disrepair since it ceased to be used as a court.

Opposition politicians also question the proposal to refurbish the old High Court.

"It's a huge, ghastly hall for five judges to talk to two lawyers," said former Act leader Richard Prebble. "It's ridiculous.

"The bureaucrats are going to spend millions of dollars on a court that is totally inappropriate for a Supreme Court."

There are suggestions that the judges would rather stay in their temporary offices on the third floor of the law school in the old Government Building.

The judges are also said to be quite happy to continue using the temporary basement courtroom across Molesworth St from the Beehive if it was renovated in boardroom style.