Wellington, Feb 18 NZPA - Former solicitor general and High Court Judge Paul Neazor has been called in to assist Judicial Conduct Commissioner Sir David Gascoigne in assessing complaints of judicial misconduct against Supreme Court judge Justice Bill Wilson.

Justice Wilson faces a conflict of interest allegation and is being investigated by the commissioner with the help of the former chief justice of Australia, Murray Gleeson, the lawfuel.com website reported.

The pair have already interviewed the principal players in the case, including Justice Wilson.

"Justice Wilson faces the prospect of being the first judge in New Zealand history to be removed from office if the complaint leads to such serious consequences, which will depend upon the views of the Chief Justice (Dame Sian Elias) and Attorney General, Chris Finlayson, a former partner of the judge's," the website reported.

Justice Neazor's lengthy experience both on and off the bench would be of considerable assistance in the conduct of the high level enquiry into judicial conflict, the website said.

The commissioner began his investigation after the Supreme Court recalled a judgment -- a rare event -- after Justice Wilson disclosed that he had indirectly owed nearly a quarter of a million dollars to Alan Galbraith QC, who appeared before him in the Appeal Court.

In addition, a racing industry company, Rich Hill Ltd, owned by Justice Wilson and Mr Galbraith was in the process of borrowing another $700,000 to help buy a property to enlarge a horse stud.

The Supreme Court ruled the judge's shareholding in Rich Hill Ltd was not at that time merely a passive investment, and that if they had been disclosed, the circumstances would have led a court reviewing the case to a conclusion of apparent bias.

Justice Wilson is a permanent judge on the Supreme Court bench, and the ruling by his colleagues was said to be the first on apparent bias relating to the relationship between a judge and counsel.

Mr Galbraith represented the Wool Board Disestablishment Company Ltd (DisCo) in the Appeal Court, where Justice Wilson found against Saxon merino growers, including the Saxmere Company Ltd, in claim on funding from the former Wool Board.

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