News Item

Victoria University of Wellington – Interpreting the Treaty of Waitangi over 175 years Symposium

15 FEBRUARY 2016, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON
“Interpreting the Treaty over 175 years” symposium will take a scholarly look at the various legal, historical, political, philosophical and policy dimensions of “interpreting the Treaty” through time. 2015 was the 175th anniversary of the Treaty texts, so it is now timely to reflect on how they and the relations they evidence have been interpreted across time from 1840.

Academics and researchers from New Zealand and Australia, with an interest in the Treaty of Waitangi or indigenous people issues more broadly, have been invited to the symposium that is being supported by New Zealand Centre for Public Law.

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring three speakers to the symposium:
• Professor John Borrows – Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Victoria Law School, British Columbia
• Professor Bain Attwood – School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University
• Associate Professor Jacinta Ruru – Faculty of Law, University of Otago.
Professor John Borrows is also presenting a public lecture at VUW, 5.30pm 11 Feb, titled Learning from the Land: Indigenous Legal Education in Context.

NZ Law Foundation has awarded up to $11,180 towards funding this symposium.

University of Canterbury – Seminar Series – Trusting the middleman: perceptions of justice and ombudsman services

17 FEB 2016, SEMINAR, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY
18 FEB 2016, SEMINAR, PUBLIC LECTURE, DLA PIPER, WELLINGTON
22 FEB 2016, SEMINAR, VUW, WELLINGTON
23 FEB 2016, SEMINAR, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring Dr Naomi Creutzfeldt to New Zealand to deliver a series of seminars, lectures and meetings about ombudsmen and other dispute resolution services.

Dr Creutzfeldt is an international expert in informal dispute resolution services, an ESRC Research Fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster.

The University of Canterbury is hosting Dr Creutzveldt’s visit.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $7,000 towards bringing Dr Creutzfeldt to New Zealand for this seminar series.

VUW and University of Otago – Private Law Roundtable and Public Lecture

22-23 FEB 2016, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON

These events are a joint initiative between Otago and VUW law schools. The one and a half day Roundtable will bring together 16 academics representing all New Zealand law schools. They will meet at VUW Law School to present their current research work in a forum that will enable feedback, encouragement, and opportunities for deeper discussion on current issues in private law.

Professor Andrew Robertson, a renowned international private law scholar, will contribute to discussion, providing feedback and insight. He will also present a public lecture at VUW, 5.30pm 23 Feb 2016, titled “The Limits of Interpretation in the Law of Contract”. Professor Robertson is Director of Studies in Private Law at the University of Melbourne Law School, and is esteemed internationally for his work on estoppel, contract law and negligence.

Papers from the Roundtable will be published in the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review later in 2016.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $5,000 towards the Roundtable and the publication of papers.

VUW Conference – Maritime Law in the Asia-Pacific

25 FEBRUARY 2016, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON

Professor Henrik Ringbom, of the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law (Norway), and Professor Hong Jun Shan, Vice President of Dalian Maritime University China, will be keynote speakers at a VUW public seminar titled Maritime Law in the Asia-Pacific Region. This will be held at the law school on 25th Feb 2016.

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring the keynote speakers. Their topics for the public seminar are: The EU and International Maritime Law: Lessons for the Asia-Pacific Region? (Professor Ringbom), and Openness and Inclusiveness: the Nature of Chinese Maritime Law (Professor Hong Jun Shan).

The New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law has arranged the seminar, along with a workshop the following day at which invited academics will present papers, and share and discuss their work.

Further information about the public seminar

The Law Foundation is providing up to $7,000 towards bringing Professor Henrik Ringbom and Professor Hong Jun Shan to New Zealand for this conference.

AMINZ & International Academy of Mediators’ Conference 2016

3-5 MARCH 2016, HILTON HOTEL, QUEENSTOWN

The 2016 AMINZ Conference, titled Dispute Resolution on the Edge, will be a joint event with one of the world’s leading mediation bodies, the International Academy of Mediators.

Over 40 leading presenters from around the globe have confirmed their attendance, including: Gary Born, Hon Clyde Croft, Hon Stephen Kos and Alex Baykitch.

The opening address, On the Edge of Global Conflict, will be given by special guest, Gerard van Bohemen, NZ Ambassador to the United Nations and recent Chair of the UN Security Council. The programme includes plenary sessions, 4 separate concurrent streams and social events.

Further details are available in this conference brochure

Registrations

The Law Foundation is providing up to $16,523 support for Gary Born and the attendance of 10 law students.

University of Canterbury – 13th Australasian Property Law Teachers’ Conference 2016 – Protecting through legislative and technological change

14-15 APRIL 2016, LAW FACULTY, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY

This year’s conference expects to attract legal academics from throughout Australasia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. The theme is Protecting through legislative and technological change.

The Law Foundation is providing funding to bring keynote speaker Audrey Loeb, a Canadian expert in conveyancing and condominium law, and to support the attendance of law students from NZ law schools. As the conference theme suggests the programme is intended to cover new developments and emerging areas in real and personal property law.

Papers will be presented on a wide range of topics including:
• Protecting property in multiple ownership or multiple use situations
• Handling of private property interests following natural disasters and the interface with private and state-run insurance schemes
• Property and future trends in technology
• Wider issues concerning the theory of private property rights in contemporary society.
Link through to the conference website

The Law Foundation is providing up to $10,000 towards the keynote speaker and the attendance of 2 law students from each New Zealand law school.

University of Otago – Law and Medicine in New Zealand Symposium

15 APRIL 2016, LAW FACULTY, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

Otago Faculty of Law is holding a one-day round table featuring Professor Jonathan Herring, a leading scholar in medical law from the University of Oxford, and Professor Loane Skene a leading scholar in both medical and health law, from the University of Melbourne.

The symposium will provide an opportunity for NZ lawyers and policy makers to discuss current topics in medical law with these two international experts. Attendance is by invitation.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $1,330 towards bringing Professor Loane Skene to this symposium.

VUW – Annual Conference of Australasian Law Teachers’ Association (ALTA)

7-9 JULY 2016, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON

The 2016 ALTA Conference will bring together lawyers from Australasia and around the world, from the four sectors – academia, the public sector, non-government organisations and the private sector. It will also mark the 70th anniversary of ALTA.

The theme for this year’s conference is Advancing Better Government, Sustainable Economies, Vibrant Communities – Law’s Role?

Keynote plenary events will be led by world-renowned experts. Parallel sessions will enable established academics and new and emerging scholars to present their work and engage with speakers and participants. Some of the parallel sessions will be allocated to ALTA interest groups, to convene and reflect on the future direction of their particular area of specialisation.

The conference will be an opportunity to explore the role of law teachers, scholars and lawyers in promoting good governance, strong and resilient economies mindful of the environment, as well as multicultural, diverse and thriving societies.

Further information about the conference

The Law Foundation is providing up to $36,000 towards speakers for the conference and for editing the conference publication.

20th Ethel Benjamin Commemorative Address – The Hon. Marcia Neave AO

14 JULY 2016, HOSTED BY OTAGO WOMEN LAWYERS SOCIETY (OWLS), DUNEDIN

The 2016 Ethel Benjamin Address will be given by Commissioner Marcia Neave, on 14th July at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 The Octagon, Dunedin.

The Hon Marcia Neave AO was a judge of the Court of Appeal until her appointment as the Chair of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in February 2015. She has been a professor at three Australian universities and has always had an interest in the way the law responds to the needs of women. She taught family law at Monash University and was the foundation Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission which worked on projects including Defences to Homicide, Sexual Offences and Reproductive Technology. In the early 1980s she was Research Director and a part-time Commissioner at the New South Wales Law Reform Commission.

The address, run annually by Otago Women 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.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $7,950 towards bringing this year’s speaker for the address.

NZ Law Foundation 2016 Distinguished Visiting Fellow – Professor Graham Virgo

1-24 AUGUST 2016, HOSTED BY FACULTY OF LAW, OTAGO

This year’s Fellow Graham Virgo, is a Professor of English Private Law and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at Downing College, University of Oxford.

While in New Zealand Professor Virgo will be hosted by the Otago Law School and will tour all law schools giving seminars and public lectures. He has indicated his topics are likely to be:

Public lectures:
• Conscience in Equity: a new Utopia (on the role of conscience an unconscionability in the equitable jurisdiction)
• Justifying the law of restitution

Staff Seminars:
• The law of unjust enrichment: a view from England
• Judicial discretion in private law.

More information will follow once venues are finalised for his lectures. Here are the dates we have so far:

• University of Canterbury, 1-3 Aug – Public Lecture 6-7pm Tues 2nd Aug
• University of Otago, 4-8 Aug – Public lecture 5.30pm Thurs 4th Aug (Moot Court L10 Richardson Building)
• VUW, 9-11 Aug, Public Lecture 5.30pm Tues 9th Aug
• University of Waikato, 12-16 Aug – Public Lecture Tues 16th Aug
• University of Auckland, 17-19 Aug – Public Lecture Wednes 17th Aug
• AUT, 22-24 Aug – Public Lecture Wednes 17th Aug

Information about Professor Virgo’s visit will be updated on this news item as it comes to hand.

Each year the Law Foundation provides up to $40,000 towards the visit of the NZLF Distinguished Visiting Fellow

University of Otago – Law of Obligations Symposium

5 AUGUST 2016, FACULTY OF LAW, OTAGO

Otago Faculty of Law is holding a one-day symposium timed around the visit of the 2016 New Zealand Law Foundation Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Professor Graham Virgo.

The symposium will be a round table event on a current Law of Obligations topic at which Professor Virgo will provide insights in a shared discussion with New Zealand judges, academics and senior practitioners. Papers and commentaries will be provided by academics from NZ Universities, judges and invited senior practitioners. Attendance is by invitation.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $4,634 towards bringing attendees to this symposium.

Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association (ANZELA) Conference

28-30 SEPTEMBER 2016, NZ CHAPTER OF ANZELA, AUCKLAND

Every fourth year the NZ Chapter of ANZELA* hosts the organisation’s annual conference. This year it is being held in Auckland and the theme is Compliance, Creativity and Culture: balancing regulatory demands and educational values.

Schools and tertiary education organisations need increasingly to comply with legislative and regulatory frameworks while still trying to retain key educational values. Education is about creativity, citizenship and cultural diversity but preserving these in a risk-aware environment is an ongoing challenge.

Keynote speaker Professor Laurence Boulle, whose visit is being funded by the Law Foundation, will provide insight into ways of meeting this challenge. Presently based at the Australian Catholic University, he has taught at other universities in Australia, in New Zealand, the Pacific, Africa and Europe.

Attendees will primarily come from Australia and New Zealand, but also from South Africa, United States and China. The conference will be of interest to education lawyers; primary and secondary school trustees, principals and senior staff; government officials from the Ministries of Education in NZ and Australia; representatives from teacher unions and academics from tertiary education.

The Law Foundation is providing up to $1,800 towards bringing Professor Boulle to the conference as a plenary speaker.

*ANZELA was established in Australia in 1991, with a New Zealand Chapter being formed in 1998. The objectives of ANZELA include the promotion of research, education and activities relating to law education.

University of Otago – Colloquium – 40 years of Property (Relationships) Act 1976: Reflection and Reform

8-9 DECEMBER 2016, FACULTY OF LAW, OTAGO

This colloquium is aimed at critically evaluating the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 and offering suggestions for reform. The Law Foundation is providing funding for editing the colloquium publication and for bringing the following international speakers:

Dr Jens Scherpe

Senior Lecturer, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University

Ms Joanna Miles

Senior Lecturer, Trinity College, University of Cambridge

Professor Patrick Parkinson

University of Sydney

The Law Foundation has granted up to $16,000 towards bringing three international speakers to the colloquium and $4,000 towards editing the colloquium publication.