Sir James Prendergast GCMG (10 December 1826 – 27 February 1921) was the third Chief Justice of New Zealand. Prendergast was the first Chief Justice to be appointed on the advice of a responsible New Zealand government, but is chiefly noted for his far-reaching decision in Wi Parata v The Bishop of Wellington in which he described the Treaty of Waitangi as "a simple nullity"