Dame Ellen Dolour France (née Larkin; born 1956) is a New Zealand jurist. She is currently a

justice of the Supreme Court The following are lists of justices of several national Supreme Courts: * : List of Justices of the High Court of Australia * : List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada * : List of justices of the Federal Constitutional Court * : List ...

, and was previously the president of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

Biography

Ellen Dolour Larkin was born to parents who were both teachers. A legal career was suggested to her by a career counsellor at Whanganui Girls' College, and her response was "alright, I'll try that." She graduated

LLB 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 China, People's Republic ...

from 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 1981, and obtained her masters from Queen's University in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, in 1983. From 1982, she worked as a solicitor for the Auckland practice of Subritzky, Tetley Jones & Way. From 1984, France was a legal adviser in the Department of Justice Law Reform Division, followed by work for the

Crown Law Office The Crown Law Office (Crown Law) ( Māori: ''Te Tari Ture o te Karauna'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on legal affairs, representing the government in appellate cases, and overseeing the pr ...

. In 2002, France was appointed to the High Court in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She received her appointment as a judge to the Court of Appeal in June 2006. She was appointed president of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand with effect from 1 September 2014, succeeding Sir

Mark O'Regan Sir Mark Andrew O'Regan (born 1953) is a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He was the President of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand until his elevation to the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 2014. Biography Educated at St. Patrick's College, S ...

. She made history in August 2015 when the Appeal Court bench was made up by three women when she sat with Justice Christine French and Justice

Helen Winkelmann Dame Helen Diana Winkelmann (born 1962) is the 13th and current Chief Justice of New Zealand, having been sworn in on 14 March 2019. She is the second woman to hold the position, following her immediate predecessor, Sian Elias. Early life and ...

. In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, France was appointed a

Dame 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 rend ...

, for services to the judiciary. France's husband, Simon France, is a judge of the Court of Appeal. They met in their first year at Auckland University Law School in the late 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Ellen 1956 births University of Auckland alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people People educated at Whanganui Girls' College Supreme Court of New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges