Sir Geoffrey Palmer to deliver the 2015 Scarman Lecture
Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC QC is to deliver the 2015 Scarman Lecture in celebration of the Law Commissions 50th anniversary.
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and law reform expert, Sir Geoffrey has had a remarkable career spanning government, academia, legal practice and law reform. In the New Zealand Parliament he served as Minister of Justice, Attorney General, Leader of the House and Deputy Prime Minister, before becoming Prime Minister.
He was President of the Law Commission of New Zealand between 2005 and 2010. He founded the Legislation Advisory Committee and was responsible for many of New Zealand’s important legal and constitutional reforms, including the Constitution Act 1986 and the Bill of Rights. He is a member of the New Zealand Law Society Rule of Law Committee.
Sir Geoffrey has published widely and written or co-authored a dozen books, including his 2013 volume: “Reform – a Memoir”. He is a member of the Her Majesty's Privy Council, a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, and an honorary companion to the Order of Australia. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Society of International Law, and a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Sir Geoffrey is a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Centre for Public Law and the Law Faculty at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he teaches. He also practises in Wellington as a QC.
Sir Geoffrey’s lecture, “The Law Reform Enterprise: evaluating the past and charting the future", will be the fifth in the series of Scarman Lectures hosted by the Law Commission in honour of its first Chairman, Lord Scarman.
The Lectures explore legal issues of worldwide relevance through the perspective of high-profile, influential thinkers of international renown. .
Sir David Lloyd Jones, Chairman of the Law Commission, said: “Sir Geoffrey Palmer is a powerful and important voice in law reform. His Scarman Lecture will be a rare opportunity for all of us who care about the law to reflect on half a century of law reform and consider what lies ahead. It will be a fitting tribute to the Law Commission in its 50th year.”
Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s Scarman Lecture will be given at Middle Temple Hall, London, on Tuesday 24 March 2015 at 6:00pm. Tickets for the Lecture are free and available via Eventbrite:
