Sir James Bruce Robertson (born 15 February 1944), generally known as Bruce Robertson, is a retired judge of the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand 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 ...

, where he was appointed in May 2005.

Early life and family

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 15 February 1944, Robertson was educated at

Wakari Wakari ( ) is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, immediately to the west of the ridge which runs to the west of the city's centre. Wakari lies to the north of the upper re ...

School and

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

. He is a graduate of the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He holds an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

from the University of Otago.Robertson, B., Finn, J. (2009) ''Adams on Criminal Law 2009 Student Edition''. Brookers Ltd. In 1969, Robertson married Lindsay Joyce Radford, and the couple went on to have three children.

Legal career

Before becoming a High Court judge in 1987, Robertson was a partner in the law firm Ross, Dowling, Marquet and Griffin. One of his earliest appointments after his appointment to the High Court was to chair the Search and Search Warrants Committee, which published its final report in 1988. From 2001 until his appointment as a member of the Court of Appeal, he was President of the

New Zealand Law Commission New Zealand's Law Commission was established in 1986 by the Law Commission Act 1985. The Commission is an independent Crown entity as defined in the Crown Entities Act 2004. The main objective of the Law Commission, as declared in its founding ...

. Robertson was also a judge on the

Court of Appeal of Vanuatu The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative parliamentary system. The head of the Republic is an elected President. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the he ...

. Robertson is also the consulting

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

for ''Adams on Criminal Law'' and ''Adams on Criminal Law Student Edition''. In 2013, Robertson was appointed as chairperson of the

Sports Tribunal of New Zealand Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...

. Robertson was appointed as the New Zealand Commissioner of Security Warrants in July 2013.

Honours

In the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...

, Robertson was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services as a judge of the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Bruce 1944 births Living people University of Otago alumni University of Virginia alumni High Court of New Zealand judges Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand judges on the courts of Vanuatu Lawyers from Dunedin People educated at Otago Boys' High School