Ida Malosi is a lawyer and judge from New Zealand. She is the country's first woman Pacific Island judge.

Early life

Malosi was raised in Bluff and Invercargill in the South Island of New Zealand. Malosi's parents were immigrants from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

; her father, Tusi, worked on wharves and her mother, Jane, was a hospital cleaner.

Education

Malosi earned a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Bachelor of Arts in History from

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 kno ...

Career

In 1994, together with La-Verne King and Aliʻimuamua Sandra Alofivae, Malosi founded a law firm in South Auckland, a partnership of three Maori and Pacific Island women lawyers. In 2000 the law firm received the

Auckland District Law Society The Auckland District Law Society is the professional body for barristers and solicitors practising in the Auckland region of New Zealand. It operates in conjunction with the New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhu ...

’s EEO ‘Most Innovative’ award. In 2002, Malosi was appointed to the Family Court. Since then, she has worked to implement culturally appropriate responses to youth offending, working with Māori Youth Court colleagues on establishing Rangatahi Courts and using this as a model for similar Pasifika Courts. In 2015, the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration awarded the Rangatahi and Pasifika Courts its Award for Excellence in Judicial Administration. From May 2013 to July 2014 Malosi served as Samoa's first Samoan female Supreme Court Judge. During her time in Samoa she established the Family Court and the Family Violence Court. She also began the work to found the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. In 2017 Malosi was awarded Victoria University's Distinguished Alumni Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malosi, Ida Living people 21st-century New Zealand judges 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand people of Samoan descent Victoria University of Wellington alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Samoan judges Samoan women judges 21st-century women judges Family Court of New Zealand judges