University of Canterbury Faculty of Law

University of Canterbury
Faculty of Law

Te Kaupeka Ture (Māori)
Meremere Building in August 2024
Type	Public Law school
Established	1873 (1873) 1877 (1877) (LL.B. first offered)
Parent institution	University of Canterbury
Accreditation	New Zealand Council of Legal Education
Dean	Petra Butler
Total staff	49 (2024)
Students	1,534 (2024)
Location	Christchurch , New Zealand
Website	canterbury.ac.nz/law

The UC Faculty of Law (informally UC School of Law; Māori: Te Kaupeka Ture) is the law school at the University of Canterbury. The Faculty of Law and the University of Otago Faculty of Law were both established in 1873, making them the oldest law schools in New Zealand. The Faculty began offering a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1877. Currently located in the Meremere building at Canterbury's Ilam campus, the faculty will move to the Karl Popper building in 2025.

History

The University of New Zealand was founded in 1870. In 1872 the Canterbury Collegiate Union was established and this subsequently became Canterbury University College, affiliated to the University of New Zealand. By 1873, law students had the option to substitute university arts courses for the general knowledge exam, and initial law classes began at the University of Otago and Canterbury University College.

In 1874, Charles James Foster, who had previously served as a professor of jurisprudence at University College London, was appointed as a lecturer in jurisprudence. In 1877, the University of New Zealand introduced the LL.B. The response to Foster’s teaching methods in law was largely negative, with practitioners criticising the overly academic nature of his approach. As a result, students chose to complete their courses mainly through private study, leading to the cessation of lectures in early 1880.

In 1883, William Izard took over the role of lecturer. His lectures were described as “sound” and delivered in a “pleasant, informal, and chatty manner.” Izard also promoted “habits of steady reading,” although his demanding lecturing schedule had a negative impact on his bridge-playing activities.

In 1902, George Weston succeeded Izard as lecturer. Weston taught jurisprudence and delivered seven additional lectures on subjects including roman law, international law, and conflict of laws. He encountered difficulties due to an inadequate library and a lack of New Zealand textbooks. Despite these obstacles, Weston’s students included “schoolmasters transitioning to new professions, law clerks, and individuals preparing for possible career changes.” Weston and his successors, all of whom were local practitioners, taught alone until 1912, when an assistant lecturer was appointed. The staff was further expanded in 1922 with the addition of another assistant.

By 1970, three permanent full-time chairs in law were established. The first professor, Hamish Gray, was appointed in 1957. Subsequently, two additional chairs were created in 1968, filled by George Hinde and Robin Caldwell, and another chair was established in 1973, which was filled by John Burrows. In January 1974 the Faculty moved from the old University to the Ilam campus.

Commemoration plaque for the opening of the Law building.

On the 2 July 1993 the faculty moved into the newly constructed law building (now the Meremere building). The building was officially opened by alumnus and then Court of Appeal Justice, Ivor Richardson.

Prior to 2023, the faculty of law was joined with the UC Business School, under the college of business and law. As part of a realignment of faculty organisation, in 2023 the college was split with the law and business becoming separate faculties.

Academic Profile

Degrees conferred

The faculty awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LL.B.(Hons)) Master of Laws (LL.M.), Bachelor of Criminal Justice (B.CJ.), Master of Criminal Justice (M.CJ.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and the Doctor of Laws (LL.D.). Canterbury is the only University to offer the bachelor and master of criminal justice in New Zealand in 2014.

Canterbury Gold Medal in Law

One of New Zealand's longest-standing academic prizes, the Canterbury Gold Medal in Law, is awarded annually to the best student graduating LL.B. at the University of Canterbury. The prize was first awarded in 1883, but was originally awarded to barristers and to solicitors until 1912, when the Canterbury District Law Society awarded the prize only to Canterbury graduates. Notable winners include former Supreme Court Justices Andrew Tipping & William Young; and former President of the Court of Appeal Ivor Richardson.

Organisations and publications

Clubs

Lawsoc Logo 2023

UC Law has eight affiliated clubs: the Law Students' Society (LAWSOC), Te Putaiki Māori Law Students' Society, Pasifika Law Students' Society (PLSS), Asian Law Students' Society (ALSS), Women in Law, Law for Change, MootSoc, Crimsoc, and Queer in Law (QUIL). Among these, LAWSOC is the oldest, having been established in 1923. Notable presidents include former High Court Justice Gerald Nation and current High Court Justice Andru Isac.

LAWSOC annually presents the "Law Revue" a production written and performed by law students. The revue offers satirical commentary on current affairs, pop culture, law, and university life. It has been a tradition since its inception in 1995, running for 28 years. In 2019, students faced disciplinary action due to their involvement in a revue production that included content mocking a partially deaf student. Other parts of the show, dubbed "disgusting" by one attendee, were criticised for being sexist and racist.

Journals

The Canterbury Law Review is a peer-reviewed law journal established in 1980. The journal is the second most-read law journal in New Zealand.

Canterbury Law Review

Discipline	Law
Language	English
Publication details
History	1980–present
Publisher	Canterbury Law Review Trust at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand)
Frequency	Annually
Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt )
Bluebook	Canta LR
ISO 4	Canterbury L.Rev.
Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus
ISSN	0112-0581
Links
Journal homepage Online archive

Notable Publications

A significant number of the textbooks used in legal studies in New Zealand were authored by faculty members from the University of Canterbury's Faculty of Law. Some notable texts include:

• Burrows and Cheer Media Law in New Zealand
• Burrows, Finn and Todd on the Law of Contract in New Zealand
• Elizabeth Toomey New Zealand Land Law
• Elizabeth Toomey Sports Law in New Zealand
• Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Lynne Taylor Corporate Law in New Zealand
• Lynne Taylor The Law of Insolvency in New Zealand
• Todd on Torts (formerly The Law of Torts in New Zealand)

Notable People

Notable Alumni

Main category: University of Canterbury Faculty of Law alumni

See also: University of Canterbury people in the law

Since 1873, the UC Faculty of Law has produced a prominent group of alumni.

Feleti Teo, Prime Minister of Tuvalu (LLB, 1986)

William Young, Justice of the Supreme Court (LLB(Hons), 1974)

Deans

John Burrows was apart of the faculty's teaching staff from 1963 – 2006; Dean from 1980 – 1986; and Professor from 1975.

• 1957 – 1968, Hamish Gray
• 1969, Position Vacant
• 1970 – 1974, L. John Ryan
• 1975 – 1980, Robert ('Robin') Caldwell
• 1980 – 1986, John Burrows
• 1987 – 1988, John Farrar
• 1989 – 2001, Gerald ('Gerry') Orchard
• 2002, Stephen Todd
• 2003 – 2004, Scott Davidson
• 2005, Stephen Todd
• 2006 – 2008, Scott Davidson
• 2009, Position Vacant
• 2010 – 2012, Richard Scragg
• 2012 – 2015, Chris Gallavin
• 2016 – 2022, Ursula Cheer
• 2022 – 2023, John Page
• 2023 – 2024, Karen Scott (acting)
• 2024 – present, Petra Butler

Notable Faculty

• John Burrows, (emeritus) professor; former pro- and deputy vice chancellor.
• Petra Butler, international commercial law and human rights law scholar.
• Ursula Cheer, professor of tort and media law.
• Jeremy Finn, (emeritus) professor of criminal, contract and intellectual property law.
• Kenneth Gresson, first President of the Court of Appeal.
• Philip Joseph, professor of public law.
• Elizabeth Macpherson, professor.
• Annick Masselot, professor.
• Elisabeth McDonald, former professor.
• Karen Scott, professor of international law.
• Edward Somers, Justice of the Court of Appeal.
• Lynne Taylor, professor of company and insolvency law.
• Stephen Todd, (emeritus) professor of tort Law.
• Elizabeth Toomey, (emeritus) professor of land law.
• Duncan Webb, politician; and former professor.
• Debra Wilson, professor of medicine law.

External links

• Official website