Edmund Thomas

Who is Edmund Thomas?

The Rt Hon. Sir Edmund "Ted" Walter Thomas KNZM QC is an eminent New Zealand jurist. He is a retired judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand and a former acting judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.

He was educated at Fielding Agricultural High School and Victoria University of Wellington graduating with a BA and LLB in 1956, and the higher doctorate LLD in 2009. He was admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.

Following many years as a partner at New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh, he became a barrister sole and was appointed a QC in 1981.

In 1989-1990 he was President of the New Zealand Bar Association, and in 1990 he was appointed to the bench of the High Court of New Zealand. In 1995 he was elevated to the Court of Appeal. He retired from the appellate bench in 2001. As a judge some saw him as a proponent of judicial activism. He was also noted for his frequent dissenting judgements, particularly after 1996.

In 2002 Thomas was Visiting Fellow at the Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra.