Mayor Is Not The “Chief Magistrate Of The City”

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29238, 23 June 1960, Page 22

Mayor Is Not The “Chief Magistrate Of The City”

Referring to the Mayor of Christchurch as the “Chief Mag’h.trate of the city,” a common practice with some speakers, can prove embarrassing to the holder of the mayoralty. Bestowing of the title, chief magistrate, on the Mayor is an anachronism stemming from the English usage. Mayors in England in many cities and towns are in fact and law unpaid magistrates, and, by virtue of mayoral office, chief magistrates, who preside with fellow magistrates at court sittings. The clerk of the court at these sittings must, by law, be a qualified solicitor. But the Mayor of Christchurch is not a magistrate. There are no honorary magistrates in New Zealand. A magistrate in this country is defined, under the Magistrate’s Courts Act, 1928, as a stipendiary (paid) magistrate, and is appointed by the GovernorGeneral. Thus, referring to the Mayor as the “Chief Magistrate of Christchurch” is bestowing on him a title to which he has no right, and as a courtesy title is erroneous and misleading. In the last 20 years as Town Clerk, Mr H. S. Feast has had on several occasions to assist mayors in explaining to irate citizens that they are not chief magistrates.

Appeals To Mayor Periodically a citizen considers that he has bean given rough justice at a court hearing. He, or she, thereupon, under the impression that the Mayor is the Chief Magistrate of the city, goes to the City Council seeking redress.

The citizen desires the Mayor, as "Chief Magistrate,” to have his case reheard, or reopened, or the “lesser Magistrates" “over-ruled,” or "disciplined.” As Mr Feast, members of his staff and former mayors know, some of the citizens seeking redress become quite obsessed and no amount of explaining that the Mayor has no jurisdiction whatever in their court cases will satisfy them that the title of "Chief Magistrate of the city” is a misnomer. A complication in explaining away this misleading description is that the Mayor of Christchurch, under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1954, is sworn in as a justice of the peace upon his appointment and for the term of his office (unless he is a holder of a publican’s licence, or accommodation or tourist house, or wholesaler’s licence, under the Licensing Act, 1908, which precludes any person from being a J.P.)

The main purpose of the Mayor being a J.P. is the numerous documents in local body administration requiring to be witnessed by a J.P. In more than 45 years with the Christchurch City Council, Mr Feast cannot recall’ any mayor of the city exercising any of the judicial powers conferred on him as a J.P. other than witnessing documents.

In smaller boroughs, some mayors have sat on the Bench and exercised jurisdiction in the courts as a J.P., but these powers are now very limited. The title of “First Citizen’’ as applied to the Mayor is more correct, and much less embarrassing. At any function, other than a State occasion, in his own city, the Mayor of Christchurch takes precedence over any other person, including the Prime Minister, except the GovernorGeneral (who represents the Queen).

The Mayors of Auckland, W«] lington, Christchurch and DuZ din, are included in the Table m Precedence (supplied by th* Department of Internal AffaS and published in Burke’s Pee age) if invited to a State fiZ tion held in those cities.

For instance, the Mayor * Christchurch at a State funeti* in this city would be thirteen* in order (by courtesy and ooh in his own city), and would t*£, precedence over the Chief n* General Staff, the Chiefs of staft the Public Service Commissions the Solicitor-General, the C«u troller and Auditor-General, pe. manent heads of civil department of State, the Clerk of the tive Council and the Clerk of th* House of Representatives.

Magistrates are given no plact in the precedence table Th* Mayor, it is clear, is given pr*. cedence on his home ground because of his courtesy title of “First Citizen” not as “CM.* Magistrate” in his own bailiwick