Our people

The Human Rights Centre is a departmental Centre responsible to the Dean of Auckland Law School.

An Advisory Board, drawn from members of the judiciary, the legal profession and the University, provides guidance to the Centre staff and advice to the Dean on the Centre’s development.

The Centre currently has a part-time Director responsible for strategic planning and day-to-day operations. The Director reports to the Dean and the Advisory Board.

Visiting research fellows may use the Centre as a base for their research activities.

Auckland University members

Professor Ron Paterson (Chairperson)
Professor Paul Rishworth
Associate Professor Anaru Erueti

Judiciary

Justice Lynton Stevens

Legal profession

Andrew Butler
Deborah Manning
Adam Ross
Jesse Wilson

Paul Rishworth

Paul Rishworth joined Auckland Law School in 1987. His research interests are in human rights, public and administrative law, and comparative constitutional law. His work on the New Zealand Bill of Rights has been widely cited by peers, practitioners and judges. He is currently a member of the Legislative Design and Advisory Committee and serves as convenor of the New Zealand Law Society’s Human Rights and Privacy Committee.  He was Dean of the Faculty from 2005 to 2010.  He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014.

Sylvia Bell

Sylvia Bell is recognised as one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent experts on the Human Rights Act 1993 and on mental health law and human rights. She has published extensively on both. As Principal Legal & Policy Analyst at the Human Rights Commission from 2005 to 2015, she led the development of the Commission’s intervention programme in cases with a human rights dimension.

Founding Director: 2012-2013 Kris Gledhill
Founding Deputy Director: 2012-2013 Chris Mahony