Dear Ministry of Justice,

This is a request for information, made under the provisions of ss4 and 5 of the Official Information Act 1982 (“the Act”). I therefore would like the following information;

1. For the last 10 years, please provide how many Judge's Clerks you have employed.

2. Of those, how many did not complete this 2 year term (they resigned early)?

3. A breakdown of the number of clerks, per cycle (2 years) from each Law School, for the past 10 years.

4. How many Clerks have had their employment terminated?

5. How many current (or former) Judges, at any level, were once Judge's Clerks?

Please CONFIRM receipt of this email to prevent unnecessary follow-up emails and extensions requested.
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As required by s12(1) of the Act, I am a New Zealand citizen. I will provide confirmation of this, if required. However, since all of our correspondence will be published on the FYI.org.nz site, I will only do so over the phone or email, with which you provide. This would only be for the purpose of citizenship confirmation, and nothing further related to this request.

As required by s13(c) of the Act, if this request “has not been made … to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority”, it is your duty to give reasonable assistance to me to direct my request to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority.

Further to the above statutory requirement, under s14 of the Act, if the information I seek is either not held or you believe it is more closely connected with another department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or of a local authority you shall promptly, and in any case not later than 10 working days after the day on which the request is received, transfer the request to the other department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or to that local authority, AND inform me accordingly.

As required under s15A of the Act, if you believe that a time extension is warranted for this request, you must under ss15A(2),(3) and (4) give notice to me of this extension within 20 working days after the day on which my request was received. In that notice, you should state; the period of the extension, give reasons for the extension and remind me of my right to complain to the Ombudsman under s28(3). Finally, the extension must be for a reasonable time, having regards to the circumstances.

As required by s18B of the Act, you must consider consulting me before refusing my request under the provisions of ss18(e) and (f) which relate to a document not being able to be found or existing or where substantial collation and research would be required for my current request.

As required by s19(a)(i), you must provide reasons if you refuse any parts of this request.

I will, if required, complain to the Ombudsman, as is my right under s28(3) of the Act, if any of the above statutory requirements on you are not complied with. Further to this, if your reply is not “as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received” as required under s15(1) of the Act, I will also complain to the Ombudsman.

This request is made through the site FYI.org.nz. All correspondence will be automatically forwarded to me through the site and published online immediately. I require, where appropriate, all electronic copies of all documents in your response. For more information on how the site works, please visit www.fyi.org.nz/help/about.
Yours faithfully,

Liam Stoneley

Dear correspondence, official,

You have failed to respond to this request within the statutory timeframe.

I expect to complain to the Ombudsman within the coming days.

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley

Dear Parkes, David,

Thank you for your reply. Further to your invitation, I request the following information:

1. A table, showing how many Judges Clerks were employed each year, for the last five years; and

2. The split between the three Courts the Clerks service over the last 4 years; and

3. What Law School Judges Clerks have attended, for the last 4 years.

I expect that if you consider refusing requests 2 and 3 under s 18(f), please provide the information you can, with the time available to you in the 20 working days.

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley