The necessity of international humanitarian law in troubled times—a pathway laid clear
Some personal thoughts on the insights, achievements and influence of Sir Kenneth Keith.
The 2026 Sir Kenneth Keith lecture will be delivered by Judge Advocate General Kevin Riordan ONZM.
International humanitarian law was not forged for the good times. Its pioneers and pathfinders were all too well aware that war is a ghastly business – a good reason not to have wars. But knowing that wars would still occur, these humanitarians worked tirelessly and incessantly to invoke the strength and character of law to mitigate war's worst excesses.
Sir Kenneth Keith was pioneer and clearer of pathways. And he was one of us, a New Zealander one might bump into on Lambton Quay or Waikanae Beach, whose hand and influence was to be felt in the law from the texts of major treaties through to the judgments of the world's highest court.
In this lecture in honour and remembrance of Sir Kenneth Keith, Kevin Riordan, the Judge Advocate General of New Zealand, draws upon Sir Kenneth's academic writings, teaching and judicial decisions (sharing some personal reminiscences along the way) to demonstrate that international humanitarian law is not only worth fighting for in a time when it is all too often treated with flamboyant disrespect, but it is in truth a necessity.
About the speaker
Judge Kevin Riordan is the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces and Chief Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand.
He is an honorary lecturer of law at Victoria University of Wellington as well as part of the faculty of the United Nations Regional Course on International Law. He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 1982 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts, and was admitted to the bar the following year. He holds a Master of Laws degree from Cornell University, New York and has over forty years’ experience in legal practice and teaching law. He is a member of the expert group of the Commonwealth Military Justice Programme.