Sir Kenneth Keith | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Keith in 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1937-11-19)19 November 1937 (age 87) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Relatives | Judi Keith-Brown (daughter) |
| Alma mater | Victoria University College Harvard University University of Auckland |
| Profession | Lawyer,judge |
Sir Kenneth James KeithONZ KBE KC PC (born 19 November 1937)[1] is a New Zealand judge. He was elected to theInternational Court of Justice in November 2005, serving a nine-year term during the years 2006 through 2015.[2]
Keith was educated at theAuckland Grammar School and studied law at theUniversity of Auckland,Victoria University of Wellington, andHarvard Law School. He was a faculty member of Victoria University from 1962 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1991. He served in the New Zealand Department of External Affairs during the early 1960s, and as a member of theUnited Nations Secretariat from 1968 to 1970. After this, he was Director of theNew ZealandInstitute of International Affairs[3][4] and later became President of theNew Zealand Law Commission. He was also a member of theRoyal Commission on the Electoral System which was key inchanging New Zealand's electoral system. In 1993, he was a member of theWorking Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 which was instrumental in launching a fundamental reform the way New Zealand tax legislation was written.
From 1996 to 2003, Keith was a Judge of theCourt of Appeal of New Zealand and was a member of theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council inLondon. He was subsequently one of the inaugural appointments to the newSupreme Court of New Zealand which replaced theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council as from 1 July 2004. Prior to his appointment to the International Court of Justice, he sat (as required) as a Judge of Appeal inSamoa (since 1982), theCook Islands (since 1982) andNiue (since 1995), and Judge of the Supreme Court ofFiji. He has also sat as the chair of aNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Tribunal (UPS v Canada).
In 1961, Keith was admitted to the New ZealandBar, and in 1994 appointed aQueen's Counsel.[5] In 1996 Keith was appointed as a Judge ofHigh Court of New Zealand and theCourt of Appeal of New Zealand[6] On 21 May 1998 Keith was appointed to thePrivy Council[7] and in 2004 was appointed to theSupreme Court of New Zealand.[8]
Keith is the first New Zealander to be elected to the International Court of Justice (2006–2015), having previously presented as a member of the New Zealand legal team in theNuclear Tests cases before the International Court of Justice in 1973, 1974 and 1995.[9]
He recently served as a Judge ad hoc in two cases before the ICJ, appointed by Azerbaijan. He resigned from these positions on April 21, 2023, and was replaced byJudge Abdul G. Koroma.[10]
In the1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Keith was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to law reform and legal education,[11] and in the2007 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed aMember of the Order of New Zealand.[12][13]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of International Court of Justice 2006–2015 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
