New Zealand Family Law and International Law – A Comment with Some Questions

Abstract

In this article, an addition to the issue in honour of Bill Atkin, Sir Kenneth Keith considers the growing impact of international law on family law in New Zealand. The article begins by broadly outlining shifts in society and legal approach that impact on the field of family law. This leads to a discussion of the Hague Conference on Private International law, the conventions that came out of the conference, and the extent of New Zealand's adoption of those conventions. The different ways in which these conventions have been implemented in national law, both historically and in the present day, are then addressed. The article concludes by noting New Zealand's failure to accede to various conventions touching on family law, and suggests that international law will yet have considerable impact in family law development.