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Thomas Goddard (jurist)

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Thomas Goddard
CNZM
1st Chief Employment Court Judge
In office
September 1989 – 19 May 2005
Succeeded byGraeme Colgan
Personal details
Born
Tomasz Goldwag

(1937-05-20)20 May 1937
Warsaw, Poland
Died (aged 81)
Wellington, New Zealand
CitizenshipNew Zealander
Alma materVictoria University College
ProfessionBarrister and solicitor

Thomas George Goddard CNZM (born Tomasz Goldwag, 20 May 1937 – 14 March 2019) was a New Zealand jurist. He served as chief judge of the Employment Court of New Zealand from 1989 to 2005.

Early life and family

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Goddard was born Tomasz Goldwag in Warsaw, Poland, on 20 May 1937, the son of Naum Goldwag and Estera Goldwag (née Kryńska).[1][2] They survived The Holocaust and came to New Zealand in 1947, changing their surname to Goddard.[1][2] Thomas Goddard became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1952.[3] He was educated at Wellington College, and went on to study at Victoria University College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in French and Latin in 1958, a Master of Arts in French the following year, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1962.[1][4]

Career

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Goddard was called to the bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court in 1962, and specialised in employment law, equity law, administrative law, the law of torts, contract law, and jurisprudence.[1] He practised either in partnership or in sole practice until 1989, and in 1982 acted as counsel for the successful plaintiff in a cited case regarding exemplary damages in tort, Taylor v Beere.[1] In 1989, he was appointed chief judge of the Labour Court, and when that court became the Employment Court in 1991, he continued as chief judge, retiring from that role in 2005.[1][5]

Later life and death

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Not long after his retirement, Goddard was appointed by the Tongan government in August 2005 to review the pay claims of Tongan public servants who were on strike.[6] When the District Court judge Ian Borrin died in 2016, he left a $30 million legacy for the establishment of a charitable trust, the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation, in memory of his parents, and Goddard was appointed as a member of its grants and scholarship committee.[7]

Goddard died at his home in Wellington on 14 March 2019.[8]

Honours

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In 1990, Goddard was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1] He was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Employment Court, in the 2006 New Year Honours.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 375. ISSN 1172-9813.
  2. ^ a b "Tomasz Goldwag". Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. ^ "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: G". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  5. ^ "New chief Employment Court judge". New Zealand Government. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  6. ^ Pamatatau, Richard (23 August 2005). "New Zealand judge coming out of retirement to review Tonga pay claims". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Late judge established $30m charitable trust". National Business Review. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Thomas Goddard death notice". The New Zealand Herald. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  9. ^ "New Year honours list 2006". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
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