‘Held in the highest affection’
Chief Justice
FORMER Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum was known for his leadership and personal warmth and kindness.
Sir Thomas died last week aged 87.
His successor, Dame Sian Elias, said Sir Thomas, Chief Justice of New Zealand from 1989 to 1999, was a reforming leader of the judiciary who modernised courts administration.
‘‘He was held in the highest affection by the judges who served under him both for his leadership and for his personal warmth and kindness.
‘‘He was greatly admired as a very fine judge.’’
Ministry of Justice chief executive Andrew Bridgman said, ‘‘It is sad to see the loss of an excellent legal mind who made an invaluable contribution to New Zealand, both in his practice of the law and in the important role of Chief Justice.
Sir Thomas was born in Konigsberg, Germany, in 1931 to Jewish parents.
His family migrated to New Zealand in 1938 to escape the persecution of Jews.
He was educated at Hutt Valley High School, then attended Victoria University College, graduating with an LLB in 1954.
Sir Thomas was a former representative tennis player and had a long association with the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association.
He was married to the late Vida Lady Eichelbaum, who died in 2013, and is survived by their three adult sons.
After admission to the profession, Sir Thomas joined Chapman Tripp and Co, where he became a partner in 1958.
In addition to his wideranging litigation practice before the New Zealand courts and tribunals at all levels, Sir Thomas was counsel in various commissions of inquiry, including the Lake Manapouri Commission in 1970, the Inquiry into Chiropractice in 1978 and the Marginal Lands Inquiry in 1981.
He remained in this role until 1978, when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel.
During his time in legal practice, Sir Thomas gave lengthy service to the profession.
He was president of the Wellington District Law Society from 1968 to 1975 and president of the New Zealand Law Society from 1980 to 1982.
New Zealand Law Society President Kathryn Beck said the society tribute to him on retirement as president included the statement he was a very friendly, humane, cheerful and essentially modest man.
‘‘By all accounts, that summed him up,’’ she said.
In 1982, Sir Thomas was appointed a Judge of the New Zealand High Court.
He was then made an additional judge of the Court of Appeal in 1984, before being appointed the Chief Justice of New Zealand in 1989, at the age of 58.
He was the first Chief Justice to be appointed from the New Zealand bench. In the same year, he was knighted and appointed to the Privy Council.
He held the bench for 10 years, before retiring in 1999.
Sir Thomas’ pragmatic approach enabled many reforms in the courts.
He oversaw the introduction of computers, the case management system and the criminal appeals division, and the abolition of wigs in High Court proceedings.
He also pushed for the separation of the Department of Courts from the Ministry of Justice, to bolster judicial independence.
In his judgements, Sir Thomas was always mindful of providing clear guidance on the law.
After retiring as a judge, Sir Thomas conducted investigations on various controversial topics.
He chaired the 200001 Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. The job was never going to be easy but Sir Thomas proved up to the task.
One of his biggest challenges was mastering a staggering volume of information — the formal hearings alone produced 4600 pages of transcripts covering health and environmental objections and social, cultural and ethical concerns.
Sir Thomas summed it up modestly as an ‘‘exhaustive debate’’ but was still able to deliver a readable, conscientious and coherent — if controversial — final report.
He also investigated the reasons for New Zealand losing cohosting rights to the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Following his report, both the chairman and chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union resigned.
In 2001, he conducted a ministerial inquiry reviewing children’s evidence in the controversial Peter Ellis case.
His report, which has been widely criticised, upheld the guilty verdicts. —NZME