Sir Kenneth Keith, the first New Zealand Judge appointed to the International Court of Justice, delivered four lectures during a recent visit to Canada as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) Lecture Series organized by the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR).  

Sir Kenneth’s presentations addressed the topics of the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in considering issues of criminal law, as well as the place of international law in national law.

His presentation on the International Court of Justice and criminal law reviewed a number of well known ICJ cases, including the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro). Through reference to this and other case law of the Court, Sir Kenneth discussed issues such as basic principles of criminality, the elements of crimes, matters of proof, evidence and mutual assistance, and relations with criminal courts and tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia and Sierra Leone. Sir Kenneth’s other presentation addressed the place of international law in national law raising important issues of constitutional and democratic principle, the role of other branches of government, judicial method and the role of the legal profession.

The Lecture Series involved presentations to audiences in both Vancouver and Ottawa engaging faculty and law students at the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa, members of the legal community and general public, and officials at the Department of Justice.

In addition to the lectures, Sir Kenneth had meetings with representatives from the legal community in British Columbia, UBC Faculty of Law, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Federal Court of Canada. Despite the hectic schedule, Sir Kenneth also took the time to lecture to a class of international law students at the University of Ottawa.

The Lecture Series is made possible from an endowment fund established by DFAIT and the Vancouver Foundation. Each year the Centre invites international experts to come to Canada to present their recent work to law students, the legal community and the general public. Since 1993, there have been 25 prominent international criminal law experts that have delivered lectures and engaged in discussions with the Canadian legal and academic communities as part of this lecture series.