Sir Kenneth Keith Lecture
Professor Tim McCormack discussed ‘Burnham, Brereton, the OSI and Haddon-Cave: the ICC and national responsibility for war crimes’.
Watch the lecture recording here.
Sir Kenneth Keith is one of New Zealand’s preeminent scholars in public and international law. He has contributed enormously to the life of the Law Faculty as an academic earlier in his career and more recently as an Emeritus Professor.
His contribution to international law has been significant including through his election onto the prestigious International Court of Justice, his ongoing support of the International Committee of the Red Cross in New Zealand, and many other organisations.
About the Sir Kenneth Keith lecture
In 2015, Pro-Vice Chancellor Mark Hickford supported the creation of the Sir Kenneth Keith Lecture. This lecture was held concurrently with the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) Annual Conference in Wellington.
ANZSIL brings together the region’s leading thinkers and practitioners in all spheres of international law. The conference is an opportunity to build understanding of New Zealand’s interests in international law.
The lecture allows the public as well as practitioners and the academic community to be better informed about the important role that international law plays in New Zealand’s legal system. Sir Kenneth gave the lecture on the first occasion.
About Professor McCormack
Professor McCormack is Professor of International Law at the University of Tasmania and Special Adviser on war Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (since 2010). He has been providing Law of Armed Conflict advice to the Office of the Special Investigator in relation to alleged ADF war crimes in Afghanistan and has recently been engaged to provide Law of Armed Conflict advice to Sir Charles Haddon-Cave’s Independent Inquiry into alleged UK war crimes in Afghanistan.
Professor McCormack has long been involved in this area of the law having served as: Foundation Australian Red Cross Professor of International Humanitarian Law (1996–2010) and Founding Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law (2000–2010), both at Melbourne Law School; Amicus Curiae on International Law issues for the Trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the ICTY in The Hague (2002–2006); Charles H Stockton Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island (2015–16).
He has enjoyed an enduring friendship with Sir Kenneth and Lady Keith and is honoured to deliver the Sir Kenneth Keith lecture in 2023.
Lecture synopsis
Professor McCormack’s lecture was an opportunity to consider the role of International Criminal Law in light of the Burnham, Brereton and Haddon-Cave Inquiries and the criminal investigation currently being undertaken by the Office of the Special Investigator regarding War crimes in Afghanistan.