Sir Kenneth James Keith (born 19 November 1937) is a New Zealand judge. He was elected to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

in November 2005, serving a nine-year term during the years 2006 through 2015. Keith was educated at the

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

and studied law at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He was a faculty member of Victoria University from 1962 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1991. He served in the New Zealand Department of External Affairs during the early 1960s, and as a member of the

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from 1968 to 1970. After this, he was Director of the

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and later became President of the New Zealand Law Commission. He was also a member of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System which was key in changing New Zealand's electoral system. In 1993 he was a member of the Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 which was instrumental in launching a fundamental reform the way New Zealand tax legislation was written. From 1996 to 2003, Keith was a Judge of the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

and was a member of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

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. He was subsequently one of the inaugural appointments to the new

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

which replaced the

as from 1 July 2004. Prior to his appointment to the International Court of Justice, he sat (as required) as a Judge of Appeal in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

(since 1982), the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

(since 1982) and

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

(since 1995), and Judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji. He has also sat as the chair of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Tribunal (''UPS v Canada'').

Legal career

In 1961, Keith was admitted to the New Zealand

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, and in 1994 appointed a

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. In 1996 Keith was appointed as a Judge of

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) 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 ...

and the

On 21 May 1998 Keith was appointed to the Privy Council and in 2004 was appointed to the

. Keith is the first New Zealander to be elected to the International Court of Justice (2006–2015), having previously presented as a member of the New Zealand legal team in the Nuclear Tests cases before the International Court of Justice in 1973, 1974 and 1995. He is currently serving as a Judge ad hoc in two cases before the ICJ, appointed by Azerbaijan.

Honours and awards

In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Keith was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to law reform and legal education, and in the

2007 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

he was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand.

Lectures

''Interpreting in International Courts and Tribunals''
in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Keith_CT.html ''The International Court of Justice – The Reflections of One Judge as He Leaves Office''in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Keith.html ''Asia and International Law: A New Era Distinguished Speakers Panel''in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

in the ttp://legal.un.org/avl/lectureseries.html Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
''The Rainbow Warrior Case''
in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Keith.html ''The Role of International Law in National Law''in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
*

' in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Keith.html ''The International Court of Justice - The Reflections of One Judge as He Leaves Office''in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

in th

Notes

External links

* ttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10354326 Story on appointment*
Press release
from the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

www.dpmc.govt.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Kenneth 1937 births International Court of Justice judges Living people Harvard Law School alumni 21st-century New Zealand judges Victoria University of Wellington faculty People educated at Auckland Grammar School Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Supreme Court of New Zealand judges 20th-century New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand judges on the courts of Samoa New Zealand judges on the courts of Fiji New Zealand people of Scottish descent Supreme Court of Fiji justices New Zealand Anglicans Members of the Order of New Zealand New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand King's Counsel New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom New Zealand judges of United Nations courts and tribunals