New award supports New Zealand’s connection to the International Court of Justice

Following the death of Sir Kenneth Keith, Emeritus Professor, former Dean, and the first New Zealander elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Faculty of Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is pleased to host a new and substantial award to support a New Zealand law graduate nominated for and selected by the ICJ as a Judicial Fellow.

Courtesy ICJ
“We were fortunate to have Sir Ken as part of our Law community here at Victoria University of Wellington for more than 60 years,” says Dean of Law Geoff McLay. “Part of his immense legacy is the many students and academics inspired by his example as a New Zealander in international law. It is exciting that our Faculty can be part of this initiative and help New Zealanders gain unique international law experience.”

Thanks to generous support from the Keith family, the Sir Kenneth Keith Award aims to sustain and strengthen New Zealand’s connection with the ICJ.

Sir Kenneth and the International Court

Sir Ken, as he was known, had a distinguished career as New Zealand’s preeminent international lawyer. He first appeared before the ICJ as an advocate in landmark cases concerning nuclear testing, later serving as a Judge and hearing cases on issues including whaling, maritime law, and armed conflicts between States. In 2024, Sir Ken remarked:

“What is most important for those working with law—in New Zealand and worldwide—is that we do not lose sight of the need, and potential, to deal with globally challenging issues and even crises. We live in a difficult time for international lawyers. But it is not the first, and history gives reason for optimism.”

Former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer remembers Sir Ken as an outstanding international lawyer, pioneer in administrative law, and a longtime friend and wonderful academic colleague—they were both appointed Professors on the same day. Their connection extended through to the ICJ, where Sir Geoffrey also served as a Judge ad hoc and says, “Having him appearing in front of me was a memorable occasion for me.”

Sir Geoffrey has previously noted that Sir Ken “understood justice as something that connects and protects people and is there to hold even the most powerful to account.” He adds, “Ken had a restlessly curious mind, always prepared to burrow underneath conventional statements of law in order to understand their implications for the future.”

A teacher and mentor

Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann remembered Sir Ken’s curiosity, learning, and generosity in sharing knowledge. She remarked he taught students with the view “that they had the intellectual capacity to be a future President of the International Court of Justice.”

Read the Chief Justice’s statement on Sir Ken’s life and accomplishments.

Alum Amelia Keene (LLB Hons, 2009) worked directly for Sir Ken at the ICJ between 2013 and 2015. “Having a New Zealander on the Court allowed me to dream that a career in international law was available to me, despite coming from a country far from the epicentres of international law,” she says.

Amelia, who now serves as Legal Adviser to the President of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, says Sir Ken remained an important mentor in the years that followed. “I count him as one of the best bosses I ever had. What has stayed with me most is the values Sir Ken and Lady Jocelyn lived by: humility, independence, integrity, kindness, and intellectual rigour.”

Strengthening the New Zealand connection

Only a few New Zealanders—Amelia and fellow alumni Rebecca (Bex) McMenamin (LLB Hons, 2018) and Ash Stanley-Ryan (LLB and BA, 2018)—have ever been selected for the ICJ’s highly competitive Judicial Fellowship Programme. Bex recently returned to New Zealand after participating as a 2025-26 Judicial Fellow, which she found “stimulating, challenging, and rewarding.”
For Amelia, entering the programme began a “life-changing experience” that led to many further opportunities. Amelia says the new support for future Judicial Fellows from New Zealand is a fitting way to honour Sir Ken’s legacy and reflects “who he was as a person, his love of international law, and his wish to give young lawyers a leg up, as he did for me. It will open the door for others to experience the World Court and pursue careers in public international law.”

Emeritus Professor Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE PC KC (1937 – 2026)

Among his many achievements as a judge, teacher, law reformer, and scholar, Sir Kenneth Keith was the first and only New Zealander elected as a Judge of the International Court of Justice, serving from 2006 to 2015 and later as a Judge ad hoc. Sir Ken’s time at the Court is marked by a wooden sculpture of a judicial figure, He Tangata, that stands in the Court grounds in The Hague.

At Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Sir Ken studied and taught in various capacities from 1961 onwards, including serving as Dean of Law from 1977 to 1981. He was later appointed Emeritus Professor and a Distinguished Fellow.

Applications are now open for the Sir Kenneth Keith Award, which provides a substantial grant to New Zealanders successfully selected by the ICJ. For details see here.