Sir Arthur Owen Woodhouse (18 July 1916 – 15 April 2014) was a New Zealand jurist and chair of

government commissions A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Biography

Woodhouse was born in Napier in 1916 and completed an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1940. He served as a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). History Early history The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on motor torpedo boats and was a

liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...

with the

Yugoslav Partisan The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

in 1943. Two years later, he was serving at the

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as assistant to the

Naval Attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

. He received the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

in 1944 for naval operations in the

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. Woodhouse was appointed a Judge of the

New Zealand Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

in 1961, and then the

New Zealand Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

in 1974. The same year, he became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

on the Judicial Committee. He was President of the Court of Appeal from 1981 until his retirement in 1986, after which he was appointed President of the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

until 1991. Woodhouse was the Chairman of the Royal Commission on Accident Compensation from 1966 to 1967, which produced the Woodhouse Report that recommended a “no-fault” accident compensation scheme. The scheme, known as ACC after its controlling entity, the

Accident Compensation Commission The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC sche ...

(later Corporation), came into effect in April 1974. He was commissioned in 1974 by the

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, the result being the Report of the National Committee of Inquiry, "Compensation and Rehabilitation in Australia", now known as the Australian Woodhouse Report. In 1988, he prepared a third report, "Personal Injury: Prevention and Recovery", which recommended an end to the disparities between the treatment of accident victims and those incapacitated by sickness or disease.

Honours and awards

Woodhouse's achievements were recognised by the award of honorary

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

degrees by

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, Toronto, in 1978 and 1981, respectively. He was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours, and an additional Member of the Order of New Zealand in 2007.

Death and legacy

Woodhouse died on 15 April 2014 at the age of 97.

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

interrupted its proceedings to hold a moment's silence in his honour.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...

said that "Sir Owen Woodhouse was a man whose life exemplified public service and duty to his country...He leaves a genuinely important legacy."

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He was Member of Parli ...

described Woodhouse as a "great New Zealander", saying that "Sir Owen’s selfless contributions to public life have been immeasurable... New Zealanders owe a special debt of gratitude to Sir Owen for his ground-breaking work as chairman of the Royal Commission on Accident Compensation from 1966 to 1967." Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias said that Woodhouse "was an outstanding jurist with a passion for social justice. He was a reformer and a great New Zealander." The President of the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...

, Chris Moore, called him "one of ew Zealand'sgreatest jurists". Former Prime Minister

Sir Geoffrey Palmer Sir Geoffrey Winston Russell Palmer (born 21 April 1942) is a New Zealand lawyer, legal academic, and former politician, who was a member of Parliament from 1979 to 1990. He served as the 33rd prime minister of New Zealand for a little over a ...

, for whom Woodhouse was a mentor and friend, stated that he "was a man of astonishing intelligence and wonderful humanity." In May 2014, ACC dedicated the "Sir Owen Woodhouse Atrium" at its Wellington national office in his memory.

Family

In 1940, Woodhouse married Margaret Leah Thorp. They had four sons and two daughters. His son, Peter Woodhouse, has been a High Court judge since August 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhouse, Owen 1916 births 2014 deaths Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 20th-century New Zealand judges People from Napier, New Zealand University of Auckland alumni Knights Bachelor New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of New Zealand Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Burials at Purewa Cemetery