Ivor Richardson Lecture

Sarah Grimmer of Twenty Essex Chambers delivered the inaugural Ivor Richardson lecture.

The inaugural Ivor Richardson lecture 2023

The focus of this annual lecture was ‘Private Law in Action’ and delivered by one of New Zealand’s leading lawyers or legal scholars. The first Ivor Richardson Lecture, on the role of domestic courts in international arbitrations, was delivered by Sarah Grimmer, a law graduate of Victoria University and Cambridge University.

Watch the lecture recording here.

About Sir Ivor Richardson

Sir Ivor Richardson made extraordinary contributions to New Zealand jurisprudence and the teaching of law. He was a Professor of Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington from 1967 to 1973, served as Dean of Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture—the Faculty of Law from 1968 to 1971, and was Chancellor of the University from 1984 to 1986.

Sir Ivor was appointed a Judge of the High Court in 1977, and a few months later he was elevated to the Court of Appeal where he sat until his retirement in 2002.

Sir Ivor served as President of the Court of Appeal from 1996 to 2002. With the support of the Borrin Foundation, the Judges of the Court of Appeal and the Faculty of Law have established the Ivor Richardson Lecture.

About Sarah Grimmer

Sarah Grimmer is an internationally renowned arbitrator and member of Twenty Essex Chambers. She was the Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, currently ranked as the third most preferred arbitral institution in the world.

She was formerly Senior Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where she specialised for a decade in arbitrations involving States and State-entities.

Ms Grimmer was also a member of the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, and is frequently invited to speak on issues associated with international arbitrations.

Lecture abstract

International arbitration has long been the preferred method of resolving cross-border disputes. While parties to an arbitration agreement make a conscious decision to exclude court jurisdiction, the role of national courts in supporting the international arbitration process is critical.

This lecture explored the ways in which national courts support international arbitration, from interim relief through to the enforcement of foreign awards, with a focus on the power of national courts to review the findings of arbitral tribunals on jurisdiction—both positive and negative.

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