Peter Spiller

Peter has taught law at university law schools for the past 37 years. He became a Professor of Law at Waikato University and served as Chairperson and Acting Dean. He is presently an Honorary Professor there. He was a Referee of the Disputes (formerly Small Claims) Tribunals for 19 years, and served for 5 and ½ years as Principal Disputes Referee. He has been a District Court Judge since 2009. He was ordained as a deacon in the Catholic Church and has served as such since January 2012. Peter’s publications include 9 books:

1. Edward William Cox 1809-79: His Career and His Approach to the Criminal Law of His Time, 1985, Institute of Criminology Cambridge.
2. A Manual of Roman Law, 1986, Butterworths (Reprint 1988).
3. A History of the District and Supreme Courts of Natal (1846-1910), 1986, Butterworths.
4. The Chapman Legal Family, 1992, Victoria University Press (winner, New Zealand Legal Research Foundation prize)
5. Butterworths New Zealand Law Dictionary, 4 ed, 1995, Butterworths; 5 ed, 2001, Butterworths; 6 ed 2005, Lexis-Nexis; 7 ed 2012).
6. A New Zealand Legal History (editor and contributor), 1996, Brookers (winner, New Zealand Legal Research Foundation prize), 2 ed, 2002, Brookers.
7. The Disputes Tribunals of New Zealand, 1997, Brookers, 2 ed, 2003, Brookers.
8. Dispute Resolution in New Zealand (editor and contributor), 1999, Oxford University Press, 2 ed, 2007, Oxford University Press.
9. The New Zealand Court of Appeal (1958-96), A History 2002, Brookers.

Awards and Recognition

• Senior Scholarship, Trinity College, Cambridge (1979).
• Visiting Fellowship, Clare Hall, Cambridge (April-July 2002).
• Waikato University Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for Excellence in Teaching (2003).
• Waikato University York Exchange Award (2004).
• Visiting Fellowship, Wolfson College, Cambridge (2005).

Memberships

• Life Membership, Clare Hall, Cambridge (2002-).
• Fellow, Royal Historical Society (2005-2008).
• Fellow, Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (2005-2009).