Thomas Eichelbaum
| The Right Honourable Sir Thomas Eichelbaum GBE QC |
|
|---|---|
| 11th Chief Justice of New Zealand | |
| In office 1989 – 17 May 1999 |
|
| Nominated by | David Lange |
| Appointed by | Sir Paul Reeves |
| Preceded by | Sir Ronald Davison |
| Succeeded by | Dame Sian Elias |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 May 1931 Königsberg, Germany |
| Spouse(s) | Vida, Lady Eichelbaum |
Sir Johann Thomas Eichelbaum, GBE
(艾俊彬爵士) (born 17 May 1931) was the 11th Chief Justice of New Zealand.
Contents
Early life
He was born in Königsberg, Germany, and his family emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand in 1938 to escape the persecution of Jews.[1] Eichelbaum was educated at Hutt Valley High School, then attended Victoria University of Wellington graduating with a LL.B in 1954.
High Court Judge to Chief Justice of New Zealand
In 1978 Eichelbaum was appointed a Queen's Counsel[2] and during 1980-1982 was President of the New Zealand Law Society. In 1982 Eichelbaum was appointed a judge of the High Court of New Zealand. The highest judicial position Eichelbaum held was in 1989 when he was appointed the Chief Justice of New Zealand[3] and retired from the Bench in 1999.
Retirement
Since retiring as a judge, Sir Thomas has conducted investigations on a number of controversial topics. He chaired the 2000–2001 Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. He also investigated the reasons for New Zealand losing co-hosting rights to the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Following his report, the chairman and the CEO of the New Zealand Rugby Union both resigned.
In 2001, he conducted a ministerial inquiry reviewing children's evidence in the controversial Peter Ellis case. His report, which has been widely criticised,[4] upheld the guilty verdicts and stands in contrast to an earlier report by retired High Court judge, Sir Thomas Thorp. A New Zealand Law Journal editorial has stated that Eichelbaum had either not read all the children's statements (reviewing only those allowed by the trial judge) or that, "with respect, his judgment is at fault."[5]
On 6 February 1989 Eichelbaum was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of The Order of British Empire (GBE).[6][7] and later that same year was appointed to The Privy Council. Eichelbaum is (May 2008) a non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong SAR Court of Final Appeal and a part-time justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji and the Court of Appeal of Fiji.
He is married with three adult sons and lives on the Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington.
References
- ↑ For instance, on one occasion Eichelbaum was attacked by a group of other schoolchildren, and even the adult who stopped the assault abused him, calling him ‘a bloody Jew’. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Appointment of Queen's Counsel" (16 November 1978) 100 New Zealand Gazette 3125 at 3127.
- ↑ "Appointment of Chief Justice of NewZealand" (9 February 1989) 22 New Zealand Gazette 479 at 481.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 51636. p. 1. 6 February 1989.
- ↑ "Honours and Awards" (16 February 1989) 27 New Zealand Gazette 613 at 614.
External links
- Use British English from April 2012
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- New Zealand Queen's Counsel
- 1931 births
- Living people
- New Zealand judges on the courts of Fiji
- New Zealand judges on the courts of Hong Kong
- Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
- New Zealand Jews
- New Zealand people of German-Jewish descent
- New Zealand lawyers
- German emigrants to New Zealand
- German Jews
- People from Königsberg
- Victoria University of Wellington alumni
- Chief Justices of New Zealand
- High Court of New Zealand judges
- Supreme Court (Fiji) justices
- People educated at Hutt Valley High School
