Geoffrey Venning

Geoffrey John Venning is a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He was a High Court judge from 2002 to 2026, and served as the chief High Court judge from 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2020. He retired from the bench in 2026 and returned to legal practice.

Education Venning graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1978 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in economics & accounting, and in 1981 with a Bachelor of Laws with honours. During his time at university, he received several awards for being top of his class: the Sweet & Maxwell Prize for Legal System in 1979, followed by the Butterworths Prize in Equity and Land Law and the Macarthur Prize in Commercial Law the next year.

Career From 1982 to 1986, Venning served as a tutor in commercial law at the University of Canterbury and has been a moderator in the law of torts for New Zealand since 1992. He has conducted several seminars for the New Zealand Law Society and has also tutored in their litigation skills course.

On 17 October 2002, the attorney-general, Margaret Wilson, announced Venning's appointment as a judge of the High Court sitting in Auckland. He presided over the trial in 2019 of serial rapist Malcolm Rewa, for the murder in 1992 of Auckland woman Susan Burdett. He also presided over the deputy prime minister Winston Peters' suit over politicians being briefed that he had been overpaid superannuation. Venning resumed his role as a full-time judge of the High Court on stepping down as the chief judge on 31 May 2020. He returned to practice with Britomart Chambers in Auckland.