The award is well deserved recognition of a book that is the culmination of over three decades of research and writing in constitutional and administrative law by Professor Joseph. The original title, Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand, is one of the most recognised legal treatise titles in New Zealand. The milestone 5th edition was renamed Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law in acknowledgment of that commitment and reputation.

At the launch of Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law (hosted by Russell McVeagh in May 2021), the Rt Hon Dame Helen Winkelmann (GNZM), Chief Justice of New Zealand, praised the clarity of writing and the comprehensive way in which the book addresses the complex constitutional arrangements of New Zealand.

This clarity and detail have been present through each edition of Constitutional and Administrative Law, with each release having a specific focus and theme of change. The 5th edition focuses on the discernible shifts in public law thinking, including the comparatively recent embrace of tikanga Māori and the bi-cultural dimension of the New Zealand legal system by the courts and broader legal profession. This development is examined in a new chapter, Tikanga Māori and the Law, with threads of analysis woven throughout the text. The author interprets this development as heralding a new legal pluralism in New Zealand and a distinctively indigenous public law jurisprudence.

In a first for the New Zealand Legal Research Foundation, it is the second time that Professor Joseph has won the JF Northey Memorial Book Award. He also won the award for the first edition of his text, published in 1993.

What the adjudicators said:

“The book possesses a depth of legal scholarship that is not present in the other competing works.  It is a monumental work that spans very thoroughly the whole broad spectrum of public law in New Zealand.  As well as accurately relating recent statutory and case law developments, it explores thoroughly the relevant English and New Zealand history of a lot of the concepts mentioned.

“The New Zealand courts have made heavy use of previous editions of this work and will no doubt make use of this edition as an authority.  Judges should, however, be careful to distinguish between what is advocacy and author’s opinion, and what is an accurate account of the law at the time of publication.  That said, such advocacy and expression of opinion by an expert does have a positive role in such books as it contributes new ideas to what is inevitably an evolving body of developing law.”

What Thomson Reuters New Zealand said:

“On behalf of Thomson Reuters New Zealand, I congratulate Professor Joseph on his ground-breaking second win. By awarding the Northey Prize to Joseph on Constitutional and Administrative Law (5th edition), the Legal Research Foundation has paid a fitting tribute to the quality of Philip’s work as a scholar and as an author. We are exceptionally proud to be the publisher of such a prestigious and important book. Not only is this a win for Philip, but also for Thomson Reuters’ broader author community and our team of dedicated publishing professionals.”

– Kevin Stokes, Senior Director, AEM Print, Thomson Reuters Asia & Emerging Markets

Congratulations are extended to the other Thomson Reuters New Zealand books shortlisted (below), and to the award recipients of the other categories:

• Telecommunications Law in New Zealand by Robert Clarke and Sean Moseby.
• Waking the Taniwha: Māori Governance in the 21st Century by general editors Robert Joseph and Richard Benton.

Thomson Reuters New Zealand has had an outstanding run of nominations and victories in the Northey Prize over a number of years and is the only commercial publisher to feature consistently in the finalist category.

The following is a summary of previous Thomson Reuters New Zealand highlights:

• 2019 – The Native/Māori Land Court Volume 3, 1910–1953: Collectivism, Land Development and the Law by Richard Boast (winner).
• 2018 – Sale of Goods in New Zealand by Nicholas Wood (winner).
• 2017 – Competition Law in New Zealand by Chris Noonan (winner); International Human Rights Law in Aotearoa New Zealand by general editors Margaret Bedggood, Kris Gledhill and Ian McIntosh (special prize).
• 2016 – No winner but The Law of Torts in New Zealand by general editor Stephen Todd received special mention (now Todd on Torts).
• 2015 – International and Cross-Border Taxation by Professor Craig Elliffe (winner); Health Law in New Zealand by general editors Peter Skegg and Ron Paterson (finalist); The Native Land Court Volume 2, 1888–1909: A Historical Study, Cases and Commentary by Richard Boast (finalist).
• 2014 – No winner but Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand by Philip A Joseph (finalist); Colinvaux’s Law of Insurance in New Zealand by Robert Merkin and Associate Professor Chris Nicoll (finalist).
• 2013 – The Native Land Court Volume 1, 1862–1887: A Historical Study, Cases and Commentary by Richard Boast (co-winner); Account of Profits by Peter Devonshire (co-winner).

Many of the above titles are available in A to Z of New Zealand Law on New Westlaw (New Zealand).

Author biography – Philip A Joseph

Professor Philip Joseph is an authority on New Zealand’s constitutional and administrative law. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of Public Law Review and the New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law, and is a contributing editor to The New Zealand Law Review. The New Zealand courts regularly cite this text in their judgments. The text has also been cited by courts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and several Island States. The Legal Research Foundation awarded the first edition of the text (1993) the JF Northey Memorial Book Award.

In 2004, Philip Joseph graduated Doctor of Laws from the University of Canterbury in recognition of his research contribution in public law. In 2012 he received the University of Canterbury’s Research Medal, awarded “Simply for Excellence in Research”. He has held senior visiting fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and the University of Melbourne. In 2013 he was the recipient of a Rutherford Scholarship awarded by Trinity College, Cambridge, when he was a visiting fellow at the college.

Philip Joseph was a consultant to the law firm Russell McVeagh for 17 years. He now practises as a barrister sole, assisting with litigation and occasionally appearing as counsel in court. He has acted as advisor to or expert witness before parliamentary select committees and has advised sundry government departments and organisations.

For details about the JF Northey Memorial Book Award, see <www.legalresearch.org.nz/writing-awards>.

For book details, see <store.thomsonreuters.co.nz/joseph-on-constitutional-and-administrative-law-5th-ed-book/productdetail/126079>.

For more information, please contact Renay Taylor, Product Development, Thomson Reuters New Zealand, by email on renay.taylor@thomsonreuters.com.