It’s time to fix NZ’s Sentencing Act

22 May 2023

Is 25 too young to understand that sexual assault is wrong? Too many young sex offenders are avoiding jail writes Associate Professor Debra Wilson for The Conversation


England flag

05 May 2023

On the Conversation, Dr James Mehigan explains why Australia and NZ could become republics, and still stay in the Commonwealth.


Justice Nelson

27 March 2023

One of Samoa’s top judges will receive an honorary degree from a New Zealand university in recognition for his work as a trailblazer for judicial reform and an international advocate for the rights of children and young people.


Prosecuting intimate partner rape

06 March 2023

A new book being launched at Parliament this week analyses prosecutions of intimate partner rape with the aim of improving the trial process for complainants.


Rachel Evan

24 February 2023

University of Canterbury (UC) law lecturer Rachael Evans has been awarded an $80,000 scholarship for PhD research investigating how iwi can exercise rangatiratanga (sovereignty or autonomy) through the development of fiscal authority.


Graduation

12 December 2022

It’s Graduation time in Ōtautahi Christchurch with 2000 University of Canterbury graduates celebrating successfully completing their studies this week in full regalia.


Vincent Kenworthy

05 December 2022

Completing a double degree in just five years is an impressive achievement. Now UC graduate Vincent Kenworthy is on track to become a junior barrister in 2023.


UC Teaching Awards Winners

01 December 2022

Exceptional Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) teachers who students describe as “life-altering”, “energetic” and “inspiring”, have been honoured with prestigious awards.


John Page

15 November 2022

Public spaces are essential to our physical and mental health, our happiness, connectivity, and sense of place, but their importance can be overlooked, according to Professor John Page, Executive Dean of Law at the University of Canterbury.


Professor Philip Joseph and Professor Karen Scott

02 November 2022

UC’s Professor Karen Scott and Professor Philip Joseph have received two of New Zealand’s premier annual awards for legal publications.


Law

04 October 2022

In an article on The Conversation, University of Canterbury Associate Professor Debra Wilson says outrage over a rapist's sentence shows we need to give victims a greater voice.


VC and Police Commissioner

30 September 2022

A positive partnership between the University of Canterbury (UC) and the New Zealand Police has been formalised with a signed agreement today.


Professor Ursula Cheer

16 September 2022

A staunch defender of freedom of speech, University of Canterbury (UC) Media Law expert Professor Ursula Cheer is calling for caution when creating new hate-speech legislation in the web series Community of Strangers launched this week.


books

12 August 2022

In a new article on The Conversation, University of Canterbury Senior Law Lecturer James Mehigan says the justice system should be more forgiving when it comes to children.


Fishing gear plastic pollution ocean

14 July 2022

#PlasticFreeJuly University of Canterbury Professor Karen Scott says more financial incentives to mark and retrieve fishing gear could reduce ocean plastics. Read more in an article from The Conversation.


Adrienne Paul and Liz Macpherson

03 June 2022

#Earth&Ocean An interdisciplinary research team, co-led by Associate Professor Elizabeth Macpherson at University of Canterbury (UC), hopes their evidence-based findings will help create change for the better around protecting our ocean and sustainably managing relationships between people and marine environments.


David Jefferson

01 June 2022

#Earth&Ocean A University of Canterbury researcher is investigating how the laws of Aotearoa New Zealand, specifically the current review of the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987, could be reformed to protect kaitiaki relationships with taonga plant species and mātauranga Māori more effectively.


UC Connect - Rape trial reform

11 March 2022

Despite decades of law reform aimed at improving the experience, recent Ministry of Justice research confirms that giving evidence during a trial remains distressing and re-traumatising for rape complainants.


In the absence of a jury

07 March 2022

#IWD #BreakTheBias Acclaimed law researcher Professor Elisabeth McDonald’s new book, In the Absence of a Jury: Examining judge-alone rape trials, is the second in a trilogy of open-access resources to be published by Canterbury University Press (CUP).


Cable-laying ships navigate complex but outdated maritime laws. Shutterstock

21 January 2022

In an article on The Conversation, Professor in Law Karen Scott says 95% of the world's data travels along submarine cables and explains why the law governing them is so outdated.


Distinguished Professors

17 December 2021

The University of Canterbury has appointed four new Distinguished Professors: the world’s first Pacific Distinguished Professor, the innovating founder of the UC Rose Centre for Stroke Recovery and Research, a leading international sustainability and tourism researcher, and a leading international mathematical modeller for the evolutionary history of species.


Long Service Award 2021

02 December 2021

The University of Canterbury has celebrated its 16 longest-serving staff members, awarded five teaching development scholarships for exciting new projects, recognised an impressive new health and safety initiative and honoured 12 newly appointed professors through the Hui Whakamānawa | Celebrating Excellence awards.


NZ Pacific Climate

19 November 2021

In a new article on The Conversation, University of Canterbury's Professor Karen Scott explains that international treatries require countries to protect marine environments by reducing their CO2 emissions.


Elizabeth Macpherson

18 November 2021

University of Canterbury Law academic, Associate Professor Elizabeth Macpherson has been presented with the 2021 Royal Society Te Apārangi Early Career Research Excellence Award for Humanities, for her work exploring opportunities for Indigenous peoples’ water rights in laws and policies around the world.


Family

10 September 2021

Associate Professor Debra Wilson, Professor Annick Masselot, and researcher Martha Ceballos explain why Aotearoa New Zealand's surrogacy laws are due for a major reform in a recent article published on The Conversation.