The International Winter Series—Impact beyond our shores
Events are at the heart of Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture―Faculty of Law's engagement with the public, students, academia, and the profession. So when the opportunity arose to reach beyond our shores and host three back-to-back, philanthropically funded, lectures and two major international conferences—ANZSIL and ICON*S—the challenge was accepted.
The Series lasted two weeks and brought together a range of academics and international speakers from Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. Each presented their research, scholarship, and latest thinking in all areas of the law, including constitutional law, private law and arbitration, human rights and international law, indigeneity, and climate law. There was plenty of opportunity for debate, the sharing of ideas, making connections and re-connecting with fellow-academics—something lacking since the days of COVID-19. The atmosphere at the Pipitea campus was electric.
The Ian Borrin Lecture was the first of our philanthropically funded lectures, featuring the recipient of the annual Ian Borrin Visiting Fellowship in Law, Professor Aileen Kavanagh of Trinity College, Dublin. Professor Kavanagh also ran a workshop for the faculty’s early career researchers, launched her book The Collaborative Constitution, and gave several addresses during the ICON*S conference.
Next came the inaugural Ivor Richardson Lecture—initiated by the Court of Appeal with funding contributions from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation. The keynote speaker—one of New Zealand’s leading international lawyers—Sarah Grimmer of Twenty Essex Chambers based in Singapore, discussed ‘The role of national courts in international arbitration’.
The third lecture, The Sir Kenneth Keith Lecture —once again, funded with contributions from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation—featured Professor Tim McCormack, a 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. His discussion, to a packed auditorium, was an opportunity to consider the role of International Criminal Law in light of current investigations being undertaken by the Australian Office of the Special Investigator regarding war crimes in Afghanistan. A timely lecture of interest to a wide section of the New Zealand public and the legal community. All three lectures were well attended by both the public and members of the profession.
The first week ended with the Australia New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) 2023 conference where distinguished guests and academics joined together in plenary sessions and panel discussions to discuss 'Is international law resilient?' in the face of climate change, pandemics, and geopolitical tension.
Professor Joanna Mossop, one of the key organisers of the ANZSIL conference hailed it as “a great success”. There were over 150 registrations and attendees from both Australia and New Zealand, with high calibre panel discussions and keynote presentations from both sides of the Tasman.
A highlight of the conference was the “Souvenirs of International Law” exhibition which showcased a range of international law memorabilia and brought some levity to the proceedings. “This was a huge hit,” said Professor Mossop, “everyone I spoke to commented about how good the programme was and how warm and inclusive the participants were. So, overall, it was fabulous!”
The second week of the Series kicked off with the International Society of Public Law (ICON*S) 2023 conference—the largest public law academic association in the world—and held for the first time in Australasia.
Over 500 delegates attended the conference at the Pipitea campus to discuss ‘Islands and Ocean: Public Law in a Plural World’. Speakers included top public law academics from New Zealand and from over 60 countries. They presented and discussed their work on topics ranging from indigenous governance to human rights, artificial intelligence, climate change, constitutional change, and reproductive rights to name a few.
The busy programme—which included a mix of plenary sessions and over 100 parallel sessions—brought together leading indigenous and non-indigenous scholars to discuss, as Dr Dean Knight put it, "an archipelago of issues from Aotearoa New Zealand to the South Pacific".
Besides connection, discussion and community, there were several highlights including a LGBTQI+ reception held at the Faculty of Law which brought together over 50 LGBTQI+ scholars and allies for the third consecutive year.
Another highlight was a special event held just across the road— thanks to our privileged location at the heart of the Capital—at the Supreme Court of New Zealand, and hosted by Chief Justice, the Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann. Guests discussed the challenges women face in academia and the solutions to closing the gender gap in the field.
“The main highlight for me”, said Professor Joel Colon-Rios, one of the key organisers of ICON*S, “was to be able to expose hundreds of academics and practitioners from more than 60 jurisdictions to some of New Zealand’s key public debates. ICON*S provided a forum in which our academics could present their scholarship and discuss it with overseas colleagues whilst showcasing some of what our university and law school has to offer.”
The Series ended with a public lecture by Professor Joseph Weiler of NYU Law school, which discussed the roles of the Church and State in an age of secularism. A rousing end to a most engaging and enlightening Series which was attended by large crowds of legal practitioners, judges, government advisers, as well as academics and students from here and overseas.
Professor Lee Godden, Dean of the Faculty of Law said, “The International Winter Series events were of the highest calibre both academically, in terms of organisation, and engagement with the people who were visiting the Faculty, “she said. “Feedback on the events has been highly positive and has reinforced the significant international profile that the Faculty enjoys.”
A wonderful opportunity for this faculty to create an impact beyond its shores.