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; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

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

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

and studied law at 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. 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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Institute of International Affairs and later became President of the

New Zealand Law Commission New Zealand's Law Commission () was established in 1986 by the ''Law Commission Act 1985''. The commission is an independent Crown entity as defined in the Crown Entities Act 2004. The main objective of the Law Commission, as declared in its fo ...

. He was also a member of the

Royal Commission on the Electoral System The Royal Commission on the Electoral System was formed in New Zealand in 1985 and reported in 1986. The decision to form the Royal Commission was taken by the Fourth Labour government, after the Labour Party had received more votes, yet it w ...

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 The Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 was a committee appointed by the New Zealand government to advise on the appropriate reorganisation of the income tax legislation. The Working Party was set up in 1993 as a result ...

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, rathe ...

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 August ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand () 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 replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Co ...

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 and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

(since 1982), the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

(since 1982) and

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

(since 1995), and Judge of the Supreme Court of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. He has also sat as the chair of a

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(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

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. In 1996 Keith was appointed as a Judge of

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 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 recently served as a Judge ad hoc in two cases before the ICJ, appointed by Azerbaijan. He resigned from these positions on April 21, 2023, and was replaced by Judge Abdul G. Koroma.

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to law reform and legal education, and in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed a

Member of the Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by Royal warrant (documen ...

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 () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...

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 Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington 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 University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni