Thomas Eichelbaum
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| Sir Thomas Eichelbaum | |
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| In office 1989 – 17 May 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Ronald Davison |
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| Succeeded by | Dame Sian Elias |
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| Born | May 17, 1931 Konigsberg,  Germany |
Sir (Johann) Thomas Eichelbaum, GBE, QC (艾俊彬爵士) is a former Chief Justice of New Zealand.
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[edit] Early life
He was born May 17, 1931 in Konigsberg, Germany, and his family emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand in 1938 to escape the persecution of Jews.[1] He was educated at Hutt Valley High School, then attended Victoria University of Wellington graduating with a LL.B in 1954.
[edit] Justice of the High Court of New Zealand
Sir Thomas was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1978. He was then appointed Justice of the High Court of New Zealand in 1982.
[edit] Chief Justice of New Zealand
In 1989 he was appointed as the Chief Justice of New Zealand in 1989. He retired from the Bench in 1999. He was also President of the New Zealand Law Society during the 1980s.
[edit] Retirement
Since retiring as a judge, Sir Thomas has conducted investigations on a number of controversial topics. He chaired the 2000-2001 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 Football 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, 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."[2]
He was knighted a Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire (GBE) in 1989 and became a Privy Councillor in 1989. Eichelbaum is (May 2006) a non-permanent judge of Hong Kong SAR Court of Final Appeal and a part-time member of the Fiji Court of Appeal.
He is married with three sons.
[edit] Notes
- ^ 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’. (1998) in James N. Bade and James Braund (Eds): Out of the Shadow of War: The German Connection with New Zealand in the Twentieth Century. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558363-9.
- ^ Robertson, Bernard (February 2002). "Editorial: The Ellis case". New Zealand Law Journal: 1. ISSN 0028-8873. Retrieved on 2006-04-27.
[edit] References
- Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification
- Profiles of Royal Commission members, including Eichelbaum
- Report on Ellis Case
- Eichelbaum's Curriculum vitae
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| William Martin | George Arney | James Prendergast | Robert Stout | Charles Skerrett | Michael Myers | Humphrey Francis O'Leary | Harold Barrowclough | Richard Wild | Ronald Davison | Thomas Eichelbaum | Sian Elias | ||||
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