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

3-4 SEPT 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: Keynote speakers:
Professor David Wexler, Professor of law at University of Puerto Rico – 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 – his address will focus on the potential for TJ within the context of human rights.
Ian Freckleton, Professor and QC in the State of Victoria – his address will trace the development and impact of TJ in Australia.
Khylee Quince, Senior lecturer of law at University of Auckland – a leading Maori academic in the field of youth justice and criminal law will provide the opening address for the conference.
Judge Lisa Tremewan, sits in the Waitakere District Court – her 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 – his address will focus on the intersections of the legal philosophies of restorative justice and TJ, and the potential implications for victims of crime.

Link to the conference website

2015 Hui-?-Tau / Annual Conference

3-5 SEPT 2015, WAITANGI, TE HUNGA R?IA M?ORI O AOTEAROA – THE M?ORI LAW SOCIETY INC

The overarching theme is this whakatauki* gifted to NZ Police by the late Dr Apirana Mahuika (Ng?ti Porou):
E t? ki te kei o te waka, kia pakia koe e ng? ngaru o te w? –
Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face.

The conference also commemorates the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and in doing so will focus on the evolution of the M?ori legal profession, now and in the future, as influenced by Te Tiriti.

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring keynote speaker Judge Mata Tuatagaloa from Samoa, and to bring a number of students from New Zealand law schools to the conference.

Conference programme and registration information

*Proverb

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

13-18 SEPT 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.

Legal Research Foundation Conference – Rights, Liberty and Equality: Runnymede to the Beehive

25 SEPT 2015, GALLERY AT THE PULLMAN, AUCKLAND

In recognition of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and the 25th anniversary of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, the Legal Research Foundation is holding a one day conference on the theme of equality to celebrate the legacy of Magna Carta and the impact to date of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

This Law Foundation funded event provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of Magna Carta on modern rights, and how the New Zealand Bill of Rights is being applied to current issues, and potential future developments.

As well as featuring prominent New Zealand experts in this area, the conference has several eminent speakers from other jurisdictions including The Rt Hon The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Chief Justice of England and Wales; The Hon Kate O’Regan, former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa; and the Hon Mr Justice Grant Huscroft, judge of the Court of Appeal of Ontario.

Speakers at the conference will consider the impact of the Act in specific areas and at recent decisions and current cases where the Act has been applied or invoked. Broader issues of equality and liberty will also be explored, including the application of rights to problems of economic and social inequality and the rights which are “missing” from the Act, such as liberty and security of the person.

More information is available in this conference brochure.

The New Zealand Law Foundation is contributing funding of $9,000 to bring the international speakers to the conference.

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

9 OCT 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.

Adriana Braghetta – 2015 NZ Law Foundation Visiting Fellow in International Dispute Resolution

19 OCT, AUCKLAND

Adriana Braghetta, the Law Foundation’s 2015 International Dispute Resolution Fellow, will give her lecture in Auckland on Monday 19 October. The event starts 5.30pm, with the lecture 6-7pm at the Stone Lecture Theatre Level 3, 9 Eden Cres, University of Auckland.

University of Auckland flyer with lecture details

Adriana’s presentation is titled “Doing Business in the Changing Global Market – dealing with businesses and lawyers in other parts of the world”. Her presentation focuses on diversity and regionalism in international commercial practice. She will look specifically at how Europeans and North Americans will have to deal with the other parts of the world, including Eurasia and Latin America.

Adriana has more than 20 years of experience in national and international arbitration, acting both as lawyer and arbitrator, and also in judicial litigation. Her practice comprises civil, commercial and corporate matters, in a wide range of sectors – energy, construction, oil and gas, real state, mining, fashion law, software, franchising, pharmaceutical and banking.

Adriana has been the vice president of ICCA since 2014. She chaired the Brazilian Arbitration Committee from 2009 to June 2013. Plus she is a professor of arbitration and international contracts at various institutions.

On 22 October, Adriana will deliver a presentation in Wellington on Business in Latin America at the conference Common Grounds New Zealand and America Latina.

More details about the Latin America conference.

More about Adriana Braghetta

This is the 4th year the Law Foundation has funded this event – up to $14,766 has been granted for this year’s event.

VUW Symposium – Law and Trade with Latin America

Symposium – Common Grounds: Nueva Zelanda y América Latina – Una Perspectiva Jurídica

22 October 2015, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON

This symposium will provide an opportunity to gain an understanding of Latin America’s commercial and trade laws within an economic and cultural context. It aims to share knowledge about the legal system and legal culture (in Latin America) that will help New Zealand further its political and commercial connections with countries in this region.

For New Zealand, building relationships with Latin American countries is important for nurturing future trade. It has much to offer; it is a fast growing and economically dynamic region with a very large population.

Dr Petra Butler, symposium organiser and Associate Professor of Law at VUW, says “The Latin American legal culture is very powerful, very elaborate and highly developed. Mexico and Brazil are two of the largest and most creative Civil Law jurisdictions in the world. It is essential that NZ businesses and their advisers have some understanding of the complex bilateral and multilateral relations Latin American countries have with each other, and of Latin America’s position in international trade law.”

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring speaker Professor Paulo Nalin to the symposium. Professor Nalin lectures Private Law at the Federal University of Parana, Brazil. He is an associate of the Private Law Institute, the Attorneys Institute of Parana State, the Civil Law Institute and the Comparative Law Institute Brazil-Portugal.

Symposium speakers include international arbitrators, economic historians, and academics with legal expertise in international law, constitutional law, human rights law, administrative law and comparative law. They all come from Latin American countries: Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador and Argentina.

The Symposium is expected to attract lawyers in practice, business people and government representatives.

Further information is now available on this VUW Faculty of Law web page.

Law Foundation is providing up to $10,000 towards bringing speakers Professor Paulo Nalin and Adriana Braghetta.

19th Ethel Benjamin Commemorative Address

6 NOV 2015, DUNEDIN

The 2015 Ethel Benjamin Address will be given by Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Christine French, at 1pm on 6th November at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 The Octagon, Dunedin.

The address, run annually by Otago Woman Lawyers Society (OWLS), is given in honour of New Zealand’s first woman barrister and solicitor, Ethel Benjamin who was admitted to the bar in 1897. The event is expected to be of interest to local practitioners, the judiciary and members of the public.

More details will be available closer to the date of Justice French’s address.

The Law Foundation is providing funding for the event of $7,075.