Description

In this session, the Chief Justice will be invited to reflect on critical issues impeding equitable access to justice for all and to reflect upon the complex interplay of factors that continue to prevent individuals and communities from fully exercising their legal rights and seeking remedies. Her Honour will also discuss the advancements made by the New Zealand courts to improve access to justice, including efforts to connect the courts to the community and to support a representative and diverse judiciary .

About the speaker

The Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann is New Zealand’s 13th Chief Justice. After a career in commercial litigation, Her Honour was appointed a High Court Judge in 2004, Chief High Court Judge in 2010, and to the Court of Appeal in 2015, before being appointed Chief Justice in 2019. Chief Justice Winkelmann was the New Zealand representative on the Board of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration until October 2020, and from November 2012 to November 2019 was Chair of Te Kura Kaiwhakawā | the Institute of Judicial Studies – the body responsible for providing continued education to judges. The Chief Justice has been an active supporter of judicial education in the Pacific region, and currently heads up the Pacific Justice Sector Programme, a programme funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and directed at supporting access to justice and the rule of law in the Pacific.