Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback New Zealand Law Students' Journal

Satyanand, Hon. Anand --- "Forward" [2007] NZLawStuJl 1; (2007) 1 NZLSJ VII

Last Updated: 17 November 2012

FOREWORD

HON. ANAND SATYANAND

GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni.

As Governor-General of New Zealand, and a former lawyer, Judge and Ombudsman, it gives me great pleasure to contribute the foreword to the second issue of The New Zealand Law Students’ Journal.

The articles contained in this issue are by law students who have recently graduated or are about to graduate and begin their careers or continue on further study. As such they, like the hundreds of law students from New Zealand’s five law schools, are about to embark on a wide variety of careers, not all of them confined to the law.

But for all those educated in the law, its prinicples and values will be a key guide. One should never forget that the law is more than just statutes and judicial decisions. As one of New Zealand’s foremost jurists – the Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith, ONZ – recently said:

I see the law as a wise restraint that makes us free. Obviously it controls people—you only have to look out on the street to see that in terms of traffic laws—but it also makes you free so you can make your own decisions. As a judge, you’re keenly aware that the law is not just about order, but also about freedom and justice.¹

Those decisions about order, freedom and justice are being made in a society that differs dramatically from that of even 25 years ago. New Zealand’s family and relationship structures and its ethnic, religious and cultural mix are increasingly diverse. Almost a quarter of the people living in New Zealand were born overseas.

In a rapidly changing society, there is a need to engage with communities and to promote the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in New Zealand’s democracy. Those with a legal background

¹ “Working for World Justice”, Victorious, Summer 2006, 15.

have much to offer in assisting community groups and by doing things like serving on local authorities and school boards. Likewise, articles such as those in this volume contribute to the wider professional understanding of some of the complex issues facing New Zealand. While framed in legal language, the papers deal with some of the defining issues of our time.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate the editors on bringing together such a diverse and thought-provoking set of articles and opinion pieces. I also congratulate the authors of the papers in this volume. In having your article selected for publication you have met an exceptionally high standard for legal scholarship.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa. Hon Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, QSO

^{Governor-General of New Zealand}

have much to offer in assisting community groups and by doing things like serving on local authorities and school boards. Likewise, articles such as those in this volume contribute to the wider professional understanding of some of the complex issues facing New Zealand. While framed in legal language, the papers deal with some of the defining issues of our time.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate the editors on bringing together such a diverse and thought-provoking set of articles and opinion pieces. I also congratulate the authors of the papers in this volume. In having your article selected for publication you have met an exceptionally high standard for legal scholarship.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa. Hon Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, QSO
^{Governor-General of New Zealand}