University of Otago Faculty of Law

University of Otago Faculty of Law
Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture (Māori)
Richardson Building in 2008
TypePublic Law school
Established1873; 151 years ago (1873)
Parent institution
University of Otago
AccreditationNew Zealand Law Society
DeanShelley Griffiths
Location,
New Zealand
Websiteotago.ac.nz/law

The Otago Faculty of Law (Māori: Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture) is one of the professional schools at the University of Otago. Otago is New Zealand's oldest law school, lectures in law having begun in 1873.[1] The Faculty of Law is currently located in the Richardson Building at Otago's main campus in the city of Dunedin.

The Faculty of Law awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). A Bachelor of Laws Honours programme also exists and is reserved for approximately the top 10% of LL.B. students. In 2007, the law faculty had approximately 800 equivalent full-time students. Approximately 200 students are in each of second, third, and fourth-year law, and over 700 students are enrolled in the first-year LAWS 101 course, which is a prerequisite to being admitted into full-time legal studies as a second year law student. Approximately 60% of the law students are female.

The first law lecturer at Otago was Sir Robert Stout.[2] He went on to serve as attorney-general, prime minister, and Chief Justice of New Zealand. Otago's law library is named the Robert Stout Law Library.

Shelley Griffiths is the current dean of the Faculty of Law.[3] The faculty is composed of 27 full-time academic staff members, with 8 full professors, 7 associate professors, 10 senior lecturers, and 4 lecturers.

The faculty leads the Human Genome Research Project, sponsored by the New Zealand Law Foundation, which considers issues in the regulation of human genome-based technologies in New Zealand, on a legal and ethical basis.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "History and Governance of the University of Otago". University of Otago. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. ^ Law, Faculty of (17 June 2021). "About Law at Otago". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  3. ^ Law, Faculty of (4 March 2022). "Professor Shelley Griffiths". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ^ University of Otago Faculty of Law. "University of Otago Human Genome Research Project". Retrieved 20 May 2011.