Simon France

Simon Peter France (29 May 1958 – 8 April 2023) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He was a judge of the High Court from 2005 until 2022, and the Court of Appeal from 2022 until his death.

Early life and family Born in Wellington on 29 May 1958, France was the youngest of five children. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Auckland in 1979. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 26 August 2022 and retired from that court on 28 February 2023 because of ill-health. Ellen France, was appointed to the High Court in 2002 and in 2006 appointed to the Court of Appeal (to which her husband was appointed 16 years later). She was president of the Court of Appeal for two years before her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2016.

Death France died in Wellington on 8 April 2023, at the age of 64.