Dame Ellen Dolour France (née Larkin; born 1956) is a New Zealand jurist. She is currently a justice of the Supreme Court, and was previously the president of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

Biography

Ellen Dolour Larkin was born to parents who were both teachers. She graduated LLB from 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 ...

in 1981, and obtained her masters from Queen's University in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, in 1983. From 1982, she worked as a solicitor for the Auckland practice of Subritzky, Tetley Jones & Way. From 1984, France was a legal adviser in the Department of Justice Law Reform Division, followed by work for the Crown Law Office. In 2002, France was appointed to the High Court in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. She received her appointment as a judge to the Court of Appeal in June 2006. She was appointed president of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand with effect from 1 September 2014, succeeding Sir Mark O'Regan. She made history in August 2015 when the Appeal Court bench was made up by three women when she sat with Justice Christine French and Justice Helen Winkelmann. In the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, France was appointed a

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the judiciary. France's late husband, Simon France, was a judge of the Court of Appeal until just prior to his death in 2023. They met in their first year at Auckland University Law School in the late 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Ellen 1956 births University of Auckland alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people Supreme Court of New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges Lawyers awarded damehoods