Irenë McGlone 

+64 22 657 3726
irenemcglone@masonslane.co.nz

Irenë is a barrister practising in civil and criminal law, with particular experience in public law litigation.

Irenë has acted in significant and complex litigation encompassing administrative law, judicial review, constitutional law, human rights and medico-legal issues, including in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. She also advises on a range of public law, constitutional, criminal procedure and human rights issues, especially statutory questions with operational dimensions.

Prior to joining the independent bar in 2026, Irenë spent four years working in the Crown Law Office’s constitutional and human rights teams. She has also worked as a judges’ clerk in the High Court, and later as a legal counsel in Te Whare o Ngā Kaihautū Waka o Te Kōti-ā-Rohe o Aotearoa, the Chief District Court Judge’s Chambers. In 2025, Irenë served a Pegasus Scholarship in London at Blackstone Chambers, a leading commercial and public law set, and Garden Court Chambers, a leading criminal and human rights set.

Areas of expertise

  • Examples of Irenë’s recent experience in human rights law include:

    • Gordon and Newton-Howes v Attorney-General (2024) 26 PRNZ 563, [2024] NZRMA 331 (CA): declaratory judgment and declaration of inconsistency proceedings challenging the human rights consistency of mental health legislation currently under reform, and the first case raising the novel issue of protective costs orders in New Zealand. Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court declined: [2024] NZSC 149.

    • Commissioner of Police v G [2024] 3 NZLR 116 (CA): urgent appeal against judicial review challenging the human rights consistency and constitutionality of monitoring conditions imposed on “501s” under the Returning Offender Management and Information Act (and related novel stay proceedings: [2024] NZCA 472).

    • Tarrant v Attorney-General: judicial review by New Zealand’s only prisoner serving a whole of life sentence, challenging nearly all aspects of his detention and treatment (unreported – claim abandoned at hearing).

    • Other large-scale tort and Bill of Rights Act litigation for the Department of Corrections, for example: a claim by over 15 alleged Waikeria Prison rioters alleging unlawful solitary confinement and other inhumane conditions (Huritu v Attorney-General) and an interim injunction challenging proposed transfers from Arohata Prison (Wallace v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections [2022] NZHC 2464).

    • Habeas corpus applications and appeals, for example Mulitalo v Chief Executive of Department of Corrections [2025] NZCA 363.

  • Examples of Irenë’s public and administrative law litigation experience include:

    • Aitken v Judicial Conduct Commissioner [2025] NZAR 206 (HC): judicial review challenging the Judicial Conduct Commissioner’s recommendation that the Attorney-General appoint a Judicial Conduct Panel to enquire into alleged misconduct by a Judge (and related interim injunction: [2025] NZHC 190).

    • T (SC 95/2024) v Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand [2025] 1 NZLR 590 (SC): habeas corpus appeal proceedings concerning time limits for the power to detain under s 23 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act following a finding of mental unfitness and pending a disposition decision.

    • Maaka-Wanahi v Attorney-General [2024] 2 NZLR 604 (CA); [2023] NZHC 187: declaratory proceedings concerning whether health assessor reports on a defendant’s fitness to stand trial must be provided in a certain timeframe under s 38 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act.

    • Newsroom v Solicitor-General [2024] 2 NZLR 216, [2024] NZFLR 130 (CA): appeal against an interim injunction restraining publication of a Newsroom documentary investigating ‘reverse uplifts’ by Oranga Tamariki, concerning the prohibition on reporting that identifies children in Family Court proceedings.

    • Van Silfhout v Pathirannehelage [2023] 1 NZLR 560 (SC): compensation appeal concerning the correct interpretation of limitation periods under the Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Act 2005.

    • Dickson v Real Estate Agents Authority [2025] 2 NZLR 265, [2025] NZAR 1: judicial review challenging regulations governing real estate agents and decisions under them mandating a tikanga CPD course as ultra vires and in breach of freedom of thought and expression, among other things.

    • Various applications to amend charitable trusts: Re Jubilee Crippled Children Foundation Trust Board [2024] NZHC 3969.

  • Some examples of Irenë’s experience advising include:

    • Advising Attorneys-General on the compliance of proposed legislation with the Bill of Rights Act, in fulfilment of their vetting functions.

    • Advising a government department on the interface between discrimination law and the expression of religious rights and freedoms.

    • Advising on various constitutional issues in their day-to-day operation, such as the separation of powers and constitutional conventions, various Public Service Commission Codes of Conduct and guidance, and issues affecting the judiciary (such as immunity, conduct).

    • Advising the Department of Corrections on complying with correctional legislation and relevant case law.