New Zealand

The Committee:

The Magna Carta 800 Committee for New Zealand is chaired by Dr Jennifer Lees-Marshment (pictured, left) at the University of Auckland. Through a range of events in 2015, the Committee reflected on the past, and promoted debate about how New Zealand may develop in the decades to come.

Power, People, Politics, and Progress

This book is organised into sections focusing on key themes of importance in modern day New Zealand. Each section has an introduction highlighting pertinent excerpts from practitioner speeches made during the 2015 anniversary year, questions for reflection and discussion, followed by the full transcripts of those speeches. It was edited by Dr Jennifer Lees-Marshment.

Click here to download the book

An overview of the activities in New Zealand during the whole of 2015 is provided in a final report – click here.

For more information about the work of the Committee, and to learn more about individual events, visit the Magna Carta New Zealand website here.

The 2015 commemoration events:

• Ongoing: New Zealand Historical Association Conference – call for papers (deadline 15th June)
• 9th March: Commonwealth Day Ceremony
• 19th – 22nd: Talk on Maori Magna Carta to the Higher Courts Judges’ Conference.
• 20th – 22nd March: Ye Taupo Medieval March
• 14th May: Wellington Young Lawyers Committee Event
• 18th – 19th May: 2015 Identity Conference: Enabling Digital Identity and Privacy in a Modern World
• 21st May: UK Professor Paul Brand lecture at Auckland University
• 9th June: Canterbury Historical Association Panel: ‘Magna Carta, Rights and Legacies’. Magna Carta and New Zealand major theme. 18:30.
• 14th June: Commemoration at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland. 17:00.
• 15th June: Attorney – General Chris Finlayson hosts a reception at Grand Hall of Parliament, Wellington. 17:30 – 19:00.
• 15th June: Lighting of Auckland War Museum.
• 15th June: Auckland Bell Ringers to ring for Magna Carta from St. Mathews Tower.
• 15th June: Judicial Review and Rule of Law Talk, Victoria University.
• 19th June: Special feature in the New Zealand Law Society’s magazine, ‘Law Talk.’
• 23rd June: Public event at The National Library, Wellington.
• 23rd June:Magna Carta, Human Rights, and the Treaty of Waitangi in 21st century New Zealand.
• 6th – 10th July: Magna Carta Lecture series at the University of Auckland. Multiple lectures and events – click here for more information.
• 21st July:Sir Paul Reeves Memorial Lecture ‘The Magna Charta of New Zealand: Rhetoric or reality? Massey University, Albany.
• 10th – 11th September: New Zealand Law Librarians’ Association 2015 conference.
• 13th – 18th September: Touring exhibition ‘Magna Carta to Commonwealth Charter.’
• 25th September: Legal Research Foundation Conference – Rights, Liberty and Equality: Runnymede to the Beehive.
• 2 – 4 December: Magna Carta Panels at the NZ Historical Association Conference.
• December (Date TBA) Exhibition of 16th Century Charter, University of Canterbury.

Featured Article

Sir Robert Worcester

Chairman, Magna Carta Committee

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