News Item

The NZ Association of Women Judges is hosting a regional Asia-Pacific Conference for the International Association of Women Judges with the support of the Law Foundation.

The conference will be held 10-12 May in Auckland and will bring together judges from a range of jurisdictions to discuss issues of common concern. More than 120 judges and judicial officers are expected to attend the event. Delegates will be coming from: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and the United States.

The programme will cover topics related to culture and human rights; sextortion; women and children; alternative court structures and procedures; child exploitation; judicial appointment processes and women in international roles.

The Law Foundation is funding the keynote speakers for the conference who include Justice Catherine Davani (Papua New Guinea), Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane (Sri Lanka) and Justice Teresa Doherty (Northern Ireland). While in New Zealand they will also deliver these public addresses:

NZLF’s 2013 Ethel Benjamin Commemorative Address 8 May Dunedin, by Justice Davani.

Dame Silvia Cartwright Lecture 10 May Auckland, by Justice Tilakawardane.

2013 Shirley Smith Address, 14 May Wellington, by Justice Doherty.

Public Lecture: ‘Assessing the Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone: Jurisprudential Advances, Reconciliation, and Confrontation of Impunity’, NZ Centre for Human Rights Law Policy and Practice, 9 May, University of Auckland, by Justice Doherty.

Link to Radio NZ interview with Justice Teresa Doherty

The Law Foundation is providing funding of up to $17,500 for the keynote speakers at this event.