Richard Ekins

BA, LLB(Hons), BA(Hons)
BCL, MPhil, DPhil (Oxon)

Contact details
Building 803, room 2.13
17 Eden Crescent
Auckland

Phone: +64 9 923 8021
Email: r.ekins@auckland.ac.nz

Available to students
Open door policy

Profile

Richard Ekins studied law and politics at Auckland, before serving a two-year term as a Judges’ Clerk at the Auckland High Court and undertaking graduate study in legal philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford. He works in legal and political philosophy and constitutional law and theory.

Research Interests

• Legislative authority
• Parliamentary procedure
• Legal reasoning, especially statutory interpretation
• Democratic theory and separation of powers
• Joint action and intention
• Methodology in legal and social philosophy
• Classical natural law theory

Courses Taught

• LAW 316 Jurisprudence
• LAW 488 Statute Law 

Recent Publications

• R Ekins, The Nature of Legislative Intent (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012, forthcoming)
• R Ekins, “The Value of Representative Democracy” in C. Charters and D. Knight (eds.), We the People(s): Participation in Governance (Wellington, Victoria University Press, 2011, forthcoming)
• R Ekins, "Legislative Intent in Law's Empire" (2011) 24 Ratio Juris 435-460
• R Ekins and C Huang, "Reckless Lawmaking and Regulatory Responsibility" [2011] New Zealand Law Review 407-442
• R Ekins (ed.), Modern Challenges to the Rule of Law (Wellington, LexisNexis, 2011)
• R Ekins, “Introduction” in R. Ekins (ed.), Modern Challenges to the Rule of Law (Wellington, LexisNexis, 2011) 1-13
• R Ekins, “Rights, Interpretation and the Rule of Law” in R. Ekins (ed.), Modern Challenges to the Rule of Law (Wellington, LexisNexis, 2011) 165-187
• Mr Justice Sales and R. Ekins, “Rights-Consistent Interpretation and the Human Rights Act 1998” (2011) 127 The Law Quarterly Review 217-238
• R Ekins and W. Brookbanks, “The Case Against the ‘Three Strikes’ Sentencing Regime” [2010] New Zealand Law Review 689-724
• R Ekins and C Huang, In Search of Better Law-Making: Why the Regulatory Responsibility Bill Won't Deliver What It Promise s (Guest Paper, February 2011, Maxim Institute).
• R. Ekins, “The Intention of Parliament” [2010] Public Law 709-726
• R. Ekins, “Reckless Lawmaking” [2010] New Zealand Law Journal 127-128   
• R. Ekins, “The Regulatory Responsibility Bill and the Constitution” (2010) 6(2) Policy Quarterly 9-13   
• R. Ekins and W. Brookbanks, Criminal Injustice and the Proposed “Three Strikes” Law (Guest Paper, April 2010, Maxim Institute)
• R. Ekins, "Regulatory Responsibility?" [2010] New Zealand Law Journal 25-29
• R. Ekins, ""Light Smacking" and Discretion" [2009] New Zealand Law Journal 427-429
• R. Ekins, A Government for the People: The value of representative democracy (Guest Paper, October 2009, Maxim Institute)
• R. Ekins, "Acts of Parliament and the Parliament Acts" (2007) 123 The Law Quarterly Review 91-115
• R. Ekins, Review of E. W. Thomas, The Judicial Process: Realism, Pragmatism, Practical Reasoning and Principles (CUP, Cambridge, 2005) [2006] Public Law 870-73
• R. Ekins, "The Relevance of the Rule of Recognition" (2006) 31 Australian Journal of Legal Philosophy 95-117
• R. Ekins, "The Authority of Parliament - A Reply to Professor Joseph" (2005) 16(1) King’s College Law Journal 51-68
• R. Ekins, "Secular Fundamentalism and Democracy" (2005) 8(1) Markets & Morality 81-93
• R. Ekins, Review of M. Loughlin, The Idea of Public Law (OUP, Oxford, 2003) (2005) Public Law 636-39
• R. Ekins, "A Critique of Radical Approaches to Rights-Consistent Statutory Interpretation" [2003] European Human Rights Law Review 641-650
• R. Ekins, "Judicial Supremacy and the Rule of Law" (2003) 119 Law Quarterly Review 127-152
• R. Ekins, S. Hinek & J. Ip, "Appeal and Review", Chapter 13 in Legislation Advisory Committee Guidelines: guidelines on process and content of legislation (2003, Wellington (NZ))
• R. Ekins & J. Ip, "Legislative Confirmation and the Supreme Court" [2003] New Zealand Law Journal 151-152