Richard Edwin Ekins, KC (Hon) is a New Zealand legal academic working in the United Kingdom. He is Professor of Law and Constitutional Government in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, a fellow of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, and the head of

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservatism in the United Kingdom, conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washing ...

's Judicial Power Project. Ekins was educated 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 F ...

, where he obtained his BA, LLB (Hons) and BA (Hons), and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he graduated BCL, MPhil and DPhil. He was previously a judge's clerk at the

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 ...

at Auckland, a lecturer at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, and a senior lecturer in Law at the University of Auckland. Ekins was created an honorary

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 2022: the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

credited him with making "a major contribution to public debate, and parliamentary deliberation, about the constitutional role of the courts."

References

Scholars of constitutional law Fellows of St John's College, Oxford New Zealand legal scholars University of Auckland alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Auckland Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Honorary King's Counsel English King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Legal scholars of the University of Oxford {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub