Bankside Chambers – A special ceremony was held at the Auckland High Court on Tuesday 11 October 2022 in honour of Sir Robert Stanley Chambers KNZM QC (23 August 1953 – 21 May 2013). The Auckland High Court Memorial Garden and engraved Toka were installed as a tribute to Justice Chambers, who has been described as one of Aotearoa New Zealand\’s greatest legal minds.
Justice Chambers was a Supreme Court Judge who died suddenly in 2013 at age 59. He was the husband of Bankside Chambers member Lady Deborah Chambers KC. The Chief Justice, her Honour Justice Helen Winkelmann, spoke at the ceremony as did the Honourable Robert Fisher KC, who was a great friend of Sir Robert Chambers. Many of the members of Bankside Chambers attended along with other members of the legal profession and the judiciary.
Immediately following the ceremony, the University of Auckland Mooting Society also held The Justice Sir Robert Chambers Memorial Moot 2022 Finals – The University of Auckland\’s foremost moot for its first year students. Bankside Members Hon Robert Fisher KC and Lady Deborah Chambers KC judged the event, along with Professor Mark Henaghan. The Dean of the Auckland Law School, Penelope Mathew, spoke at the Moot which was held in Courtroom No.1. A large number of law students were also present to view the final of the mooting competition, which is the biggest mooting event in terms of participation of law students at The University of Auckland Law School.
The mooting competition was established by Lady Deborah in Justice Chambers\’ memory in 2017. Justice Chambers was a keen supporter of academic law and in particular the Auckland Law School where he lectured after his return from Oxford having been awarded his PhD in 1978.
