The Christchurch High Court is the venue for a valedictory sitting in courtroom 12 at 3pm on 12 April to mark the retirement of Associate Judge John Matthews.

There will be break with the tradition that judges of the High Court are farewelled at their final sitting by the legal profession but in the absence of their fellow judges. This is because Associate Judge Matthews was appointed shortly before the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Because of the emergency he was sworn in in Auckland, away from his home province and neither the Christchurch judiciary nor the profession had the chance to mark his appointment in the usual way.

Associate Judge Matthews graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1972 and was admitted in 1973. He was a partner at Lane Neave from 1975 to 1987 when he joined the independent bar. He practised mainly in the civil area. He was an experienced resource management commissioner and chaired the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal from 1998 to 2004.