David Vernon Williams is a professor, and former deputy

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

. He comes from the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and was educated at

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding secondary school located in Whanganui, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. Affiliated with the Anglican Church, it is the third oldest school in ...

Education and career

His formal

tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

qualifications include undergraduate degrees in history and in law ( BA/

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

) from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, a graduate degree in law ( BCL) from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

, and a doctoral research qualification from the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

(

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

) that included an analysis of colonial legal history in

, and a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

from the University of Oxford ( DipTheol). He is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

of the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand () is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration of justice throughout New Zeala ...

and holds a

practising certificate A practising certificate is a licence to practise a particular profession. In the legal profession, solicitors and barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in cou ...

to act as a barrister. He was employed as a legal academic at universities in England, Tanzania, and New Zealand from 1971 to 1991, and during that time he wrote numerous published articles and book chapters on issues related to colonial law,

indigenous law Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

and the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

. From 1992 to 2000, his primary occupation was as a consultant contracted to research on law in history and on Treaty of Waitangi-related legal issues. He has acted in a variety of capacities in contracts with the

Crown Forestry Rental Trust A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

, and

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK, also called in English the Ministry of Māori Development) is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori people, Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māor ...

. He was responsible for the ''Māori Land Legislation Manual'' (and Database) which was published in two volumes by the Crown Forestry Rental Trust in 1994 and 1995. He is the author of ''Te Kooti Tango Whenua': The Native Land Court, 1864–1909'' published by

Huia Publishers Huia Publishers is a New Zealand publishing company based in Wellington, established in 1991. Huia publishes material in Māori and English for adults and children, including graphic novels, picture books, chapter books, novels and resources fo ...

in 1999. Williams made front-page-news in 1978 when he walked into an Auckland Police station and asked to be arrested for stealing a pen from his employer. This was a protest against police racism; police had two days earlier had arrested a Pacific Island migrant for stealing a comb from his employer. He has acted as an arbitrator in respect of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

-owned forestry land. He is the honorary legal adviser to

Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa is an Anglican regional bishopric or diocese (), that covers the entire country of New Zealand (). The diocese is home to Māori Anglicans across Aotearoa (New Zealand), and is one of the three Tikanga (cultural stream ...

(Anglican Church) and a member of the Anglican Church's

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

/Te Hinota Whanui. In 2001, he was appointed an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in law at the University of Auckland, and in 2005 was promoted to full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. In 2018, Williams was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

Works

''Crown policy affecting Māori knowledge systems and cultural practices''
Wellington, New Zealand:

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...

, 2001.
''Mātauranga Māori and taonga: the nature and extent of Treaty rights held by iwi and hapū in indigenous flora and fauna, cultural heritage objects, valued traditional knowledge''
Wellington, New Zealand: Waitangi Tribunal, 2001.
''Taking into account of te ao Maori in relation to reform of the law of succession: a working paper''
(with Pat Hohepa) Wellington, New Zealand:

, 1996.
''Te Kooti tango whenua: The Native Land Court 1864–1909''
Wellington, N.Z. :

, 1999.
''Waitangi revisited : perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi''
edited by Michael Belgrave, Merata Kawharu and David Williams.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2005.

References

External links

David Williams – Faculty of Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Legal educators Legal writers 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Academic staff of the University of Auckland Victoria University of Wellington alumni Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford New Zealand Rhodes Scholars People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand lawyers