The Role of the International Law Commission: Stability v. Change
Dr Penelope Ridings, MNZM
4.30pm for 5pm start, Thurs 24 November 2022
National Office
Chapman Tripp, Level 6, 20 Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6011.
This event is organised by the National Office of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, in collaboration with Chapman Tripp and the New Zealand Centre for Public Law.
It is free to attend. Space is limited so pre-registration is required. Refreshments will be served.
About the event
The International Law Commission (ILC) was established in 1947 as an expert body of international lawyers reporting to the United Nations General Assembly. Dr Penelope Ridings is the third New Zealander to be elected to the Commission, and the first to be nominated for 20 years. In this presentation, she looks at the role that the ILC plays in international affairs, in providing stability through international law and in addressing change by providing States with the tools to respond to new issues. She also looks at what it means for New Zealand to have someone on the Commission and what she hopes to achieve on the ILC.
Dr Ridings will be introduced by Victoria Hallum, Deputy Secretary Multilateral and Legal Affairs, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Her talk will be discussed by Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith and will be followed by questions and answers. The event concludes with a drinks reception.
About Dr Penelope Ridings MNZM
Dr Ridings is a distinguished international lawyer and barrister. Her long career at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade included spells as the Chief International Legal Advisor; Ambassador to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and High Commissioner to Samoa. In November 2021 Dr Ridings was elected as one of eight representatives from the 'Western European and other' group of countries for a five year-term on the International Law Commission, beginning January 2023. Additional experience includes legal advisor to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Dr Ridings has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and MJur (with distinction) and BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015.
About The Rt Hon Judge Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE QC.
Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith is one of New Zealand's most distinguished jurists. He studied law at the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law School. After being a clerk at the Magistrates’ Court in Auckland and a lawyer in the Department of External Affairs, he joined the law faculty at VUW where he taught from 1962 to 1964 and 1966 to 1991, interrupted by two years in the Office of Legal Affairs at the United Nations in New York and a shared position as Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. From 1971 he was a member of various law and constitutional reform bodies, including the Danks Committee on Official Information and the Royal Commission on the Electoral System. From 1986 to 1995 he was a member and President of the Law Commission. From 1982 to 2004 he sat in appeal courts in Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue and Fiji. From 1995 until 2006 he was a member of the New Zealand Court of Appeal and an initial member of the Supreme Court which replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, on which he sat in 2001 and 2003. He was a member of various international arbitral tribunals from 1990 to 2020.
From 2006 to 2015 Kenneth Keith was a judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the principal judicial organ of the UN. He was first New Zealander to be elected to that body. He is a Life Member and past President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and Emeritus Professor in the Law Faculty at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.
This event is organised by the National Office of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, in collaboration with Chapman Tripp and the New Zealand Centre for Public Law.
It is free to attend. Space is limited so pre-registration is required. Refreshments will be served.
About the event
The International Law Commission (ILC) was established in 1947 as an expert body of international lawyers reporting to the United Nations General Assembly. Dr Penelope Ridings is the third New Zealander to be elected to the Commission, and the first to be nominated for 20 years. In this presentation, she looks at the role that the ILC plays in international affairs, in providing stability through international law and in addressing change by providing States with the tools to respond to new issues. She also looks at what it means for New Zealand to have someone on the Commission and what she hopes to achieve on the ILC.
Dr Ridings will be introduced by Victoria Hallum, Deputy Secretary Multilateral and Legal Affairs, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Her talk will be discussed by Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith and will be followed by questions and answers. The event concludes with a drinks reception.
About Dr Penelope Ridings MNZM
Dr Ridings is a distinguished international lawyer and barrister. Her long career at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade included spells as the Chief International Legal Advisor; Ambassador to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and High Commissioner to Samoa. In November 2021 Dr Ridings was elected as one of eight representatives from the 'Western European and other' group of countries for a five year-term on the International Law Commission, beginning January 2023. Additional experience includes legal advisor to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Dr Ridings has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and MJur (with distinction) and BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015.
About The Rt Hon Judge Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE QC.
Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith is one of New Zealand's most distinguished jurists. He studied law at the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law School. After being a clerk at the Magistrates’ Court in Auckland and a lawyer in the Department of External Affairs, he joined the law faculty at VUW where he taught from 1962 to 1964 and 1966 to 1991, interrupted by two years in the Office of Legal Affairs at the United Nations in New York and a shared position as Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. From 1971 he was a member of various law and constitutional reform bodies, including the Danks Committee on Official Information and the Royal Commission on the Electoral System. From 1986 to 1995 he was a member and President of the Law Commission. From 1982 to 2004 he sat in appeal courts in Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue and Fiji. From 1995 until 2006 he was a member of the New Zealand Court of Appeal and an initial member of the Supreme Court which replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, on which he sat in 2001 and 2003. He was a member of various international arbitral tribunals from 1990 to 2020.
From 2006 to 2015 Kenneth Keith was a judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the principal judicial organ of the UN. He was first New Zealander to be elected to that body. He is a Life Member and past President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and Emeritus Professor in the Law Faculty at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.
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