The future career and reputation of Supreme Court Judge Bill Wilson is at stake at a hearing which began in the High Court at Wellington today.
In the ground-breaking case, Justice Wilson is fighting to overturn a move by the Judicial Conduct Commissioner Sir David Gascoigne to have his behaviour examined by a panel.
An application is being heard by Justices John Wild, Forrest Miller and Graham Lang to set aside the commissioner's recommendations.
Justice Wilson, who is not in court, is being represented by Colin Carruthers, QC, who is arguing that the alleged misconduct has not been specified or shown to warrant the judge being removed from the bench.
The commissioner's unprecedented move came after he received complaints that Justice Wilson had not fully disclosed his personal and business relationship with Alan Galbraith, QC, while sitting on a Court of Appeal case in 2007.
Mr Galbraith, who was acting for a party in those proceedings, and Judge Wilson were partners in a horse breeding business.
The hearing is set down for three days.
