A formal sitting of the Supreme Court will be held on 7 April 2017 to mark the retirement of Justice Terence Arnold.

Justice Arnold retires from the court on attaining the age of 70 years on 12 April. Chief Justice Sian Elias says all members of the legal profession are welcome at the final sitting and efforts will be made to accommodate as many as wish to appear in the courtroom.

Justice Elias says the court will sit, as is its practice, without robes. Counsel appearing are invited to wear gowns.

Justice Arnold was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court on 10 June 2013. He began his legal career by obtaining BA (in classics) and LLM degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and an LLM at New York University. He was on the academic staff of Victoria University and Canadian universities before becoming a partner of Chapman Tripp between 1985 and 1994.

Justice Arnold became a barrister sole in 1994 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1997. He was Solicitor-General between 2000 and 2006 and represented the Crown in a number of leading cases in the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Privy Council in the areas of taxation, Treaty of Waitangi jurisprudence, human rights law, criminal law, and administrative law. As Solicitor-General he was also chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group which provided recommendations to the then Attorney-General on the purpose, structure, composition and role of the new Supreme Court.

He was appointed a judge of the High Court and Court of Appeal on 19 May 2006, and to the Supreme Court in 2013. He was knighted in the New Year's Honours List at the beginning of 2016.

The sitting on 7 April will be held at 4:30pm, at the Supreme Court, 85 Lambton Quay, Wellington, to be followed by a reception for those attending.