News Item

Every year Law Foundation support enables many eminent international legal experts to visit New Zealand and speak at conferences, seminars, lectures and other events. In 2015 the Law Foundation is providing up to $76,170 in support of these visits and the dissemination of knowledge that comes from them.

Here is a snapshot of the events and speakers the Law Foundation is supporting this year:

VUW Conference – Family Violence, the Law and Restorative Justice

7-8 May 2015, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON

A one-day conference will be held on Thursday 7 May, and will explore innovative approaches to family violence based on principles, practices and values of restorative justice. The following day, Friday 8 May, a professional development workshop will run for restorative justice facilitators and family violence workers.

The conference will be of interest to academics, policymakers, service providers and practitioners in the family violence and restorative justice sectors.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $10,000 towards bringing the keynote presenter Leigh Goodmark, Professor of Law in the Frances King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland, and towards conference transcription costs.

Further information about the symposium is available on this flyer. Registrations are being taken by Hannah Gabriel at VUW.

University of Auckland Conference – Maori Engagement in NZ’s Extractive Industry: Innovative Legal Solutions

12-13 JUNE 2015, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

The aim of this symposium is to explore how recent developments in international law and State/Extractive Industry practice may improve M?ori engagement with the Extractive Industry through: robust consultation and impact assessment processes; benefit sharing agreements with Extractive Industry; partnership agreements with the Extractive Industry; and iwi-led projects.

The symposium will bring together experts in international law and indigenous rights, and domestic legal issues, and representatives of the Extractive Industry as well as a broad cross-section of M?ori communities who have experience with Extractive Industry.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $9,140 towards student attendance and for bringing keynote speakers to New Zealand.

Proposed keynote speakers:

Professor Marcia Langton, the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, founding Director of the Centre for Indigenous, Natural and Cultural Resource Management, and the Ranger Chair of Aboriginal Studies at the Northern Territory University.

Professor Saleem Ali, Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), at the University of Queensland, committed to expanding the work of his Centre to cover pressing development challenges in extractive economies in partnership with industry and international aid agencies.

A link to further information about the symposium will be added to this page once it is available.

AMINZ Conference 2015

23-25 JULY 2015, WELLINGTON

The Law Foundation is providing funding support of up to $22,225 for the AMINZ* Conference, the only national dispute resolution conference held annually in NZ. Up to $3,400 will assist with student attendance, and the balance will go towards bringing the keynote speakers to the conference.

This year’s theme “New Horizons” will focus on new initiatives, novel ways of working in dispute resolution, recent legislation and progress in science that alters the way in which those involved in dispute resolution must work.

Keynote speakers:

John Sturrock QC, Scotland’s leading commercial mediator, founder of Collaborative Scotland and facilitator of discussions on European climate change.

Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, Australia’s longest-serving judge, a human rights advocate and President of the UN Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He previously held the positions of Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84), and President of Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia (2009-2010).

Wendy Miles QC heads the international arbitration team of Boies, Schiller & Flexner and acts as counsel for international companies and States. Her practice focuses on international dispute resolution dealing with issues of private and public international law. She is member of the ICC’s Court of Arbitration and is Deputy Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Board of Trustees.

Further information about the symposium will become available via this AMINZ web page.

*AMINZ – Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand

University of Auckland – Therapeutic Jurisprudence Conference – Weaving Strands: Nga Whenu Raranga

3-4 SEPTEMBER 2015, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

The conference theme “Weaving Strands: Nga Whenu Raranga”, signifies the unique weaving together of cultural understandings, legal practice, procedure and philosophy in Aotearoa to the international concept of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ). It will showcase the concept of TJ across a variety of contexts.

Attendees are expected from Australasia and beyond and from a diverse range of occupations: legal practitioners, criminal justice professionals, members of Non-Government Organisations involved with health and social sector care, as well as academics from the disciplines of law, criminology, sociology, health sciences, psychiatry, psychology and nursing.

The Law Foundation is providing funding of up to $10,000 towards bringing three international keynote speakers to this conference.

International keynote speakers:
Professor David Wexler, the “architect of therapeutic jurisprudence” – his address will be on the future of TJ and on moves in US, Australia and NZ to “mainstream” the approach into legal systems.

Michael Perlin, Professor of Law at New York Law School where he is Director of the International Mental Disability Law Reform Project and Director of the Online Mental Disability Law Programme. His address will focus on the potential for TJ within the context of human rights.
Professor Ian Freckleton is a QC in the State of Victoria. He is a Professorial Fellow in Law and Psychiatry at University of Melbourne, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Monash University and AUT. His address will trace the development and impact of TJ in Australia.

New Zealand keynote speakers:
Judge Lisa Tremewan sits in the Waitakere District Court and was instrumental in the development and implementation of NZ’s first Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. Her keynote address will be on specialist courts and the unique ways in which TJ practices are being applied in Aotearoa.
Professor Chris Marshall, Chair of Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington, is internationally renowned for his seminal work in the area of restorative justice, and a qualified restorative justice facilitator. His address will focus on the intersections of the legal philosophies of restorative justice and TJ, and the potential implications for victims of crime.
Khylee Quince, a leading Maori academic in the field of youth justice and criminal law will provide the opening address for the conference.

Link to the conference website

17th Triennial Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Conference – Independent Judiciaries, Diverse Societies

13-18 SEPTEMBER 2015 – MICHAEL FOWLER CENTRE, WELLINGTON

Commonwealth judges will gather in Wellington for 6 days, 13-18 September, of which 4 days will be spent at their 17th Triennial Conference themed “Independent Judiciaries, Diverse Societies”. Attendance of Pacific Island judges is being supported by a grant of up to $12,000 from the NZ Law Foundation.

This is the first occasion the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association has held its triennial conference in New Zealand.

Dr Emily Henderson, the Law Foundation’s 2012 International Research Fellow, will be involved in a panel session titled “Options for Judges taking control of cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses”. Her involvement will draw on findings from her fellowship project about cross-examining vulnerable witnesses.

Canterbury Women’s Legal Association – Professional Women’s Conference 2015

9 OCTOBER 2015 – RYDGES, CHRISTCHURCH

The 2015 Professional Women’s Conference is being organised by the Canterbury Women’s Legal Association, an organisation dedicated to providing support and networking for women lawyers in the Canterbury Region.

The Law Foundation is supporting the keynote speaker Rabia Siddique to come from Perth. Rabia is a former prosecutor of terrorist and war crimes, an international humanitarian, a retired British Army officer, a hostage survivor and the mother of triplets. Rabia’s life story is an inspiring one that shows a commitment to equality, justice and authentic leadership. She has been described as “more than just a survivor, a fighter, trail blazer and eternal optimist”.

A link to further information about the conference will be added to this page once it becomes available.

The Law Foundation is providing funding of up to $3,000 as a contribution towards the costs of bringing the international keynote speaker to this conference.