Background
Keith, Kenneth James was born on November 19, 1937 in Auckland, New Zealand. Son of Patrick James and Amy Irene (Witheridge) Keith.
Keith, Kenneth James was born on November 19, 1937 in Auckland, New Zealand. Son of Patrick James and Amy Irene (Witheridge) Keith.
Bachelor of Laws, New Zealand University, Auckland, 1961. Master of Laws, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, 1964. Master of Laws, Harvard University, 1965.
Doctor of Laws (honorary), University Auckland, 2001. Doctor of Laws (honorary), Victoria University Wellington, 2004.
With legal office Department of External Affairs Government of New Zealand, Wellington, 1960-1962. Lecturer law Victoria University, 1962-1973, professor, 1974-1991. Associate legal officer United Nations, New York City, 1968-1970.
Director New Zealand Institute International Affairs, Wellington, 1972—1974, president, 2000—2007. Deputy president Law Commission Government of New Zealand, 1986-1991, president, 1991—1996. Judge International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, since 2006.
Visiting professor Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, 1981—1982. Member Royal Commission Electoral Systems, Wellington, 1985—1986, International Fact Finding commission, 1991—2006, Judicial Committee of Privy Council, London, 1998—2003. Judge New Zealand Court of Appeal, 1996—2003, Supreme Court New Zealand, 2005—2006, Western Samoan Court of Appeal, Apia, since 1982, Cook Island Court of Appeal, Apia, since 1982, Rarotonga, since 1982, Niue Court of Appeal, since 1995, Supreme Court Fiji, since 2003.
Institut de Droit International]
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 United Nations Secretariat from 1968 to 1970. 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 Acting 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, and was a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Sir Kenneth is the first New Zealander to be elected to the International Court of Justice (2006-2015) and has 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.
Married Jocelyn Margaret Buckett, May 13, 1961. Children: Judith Mary, John Perry, Susan Elizabeth, Benjamin James Roy.