Dr Penelope Ridings MNZM
New Zealand Barrister and International Law Consultant
Crisis issues in the environment: the role of international law (morning panels session, day 2)
Dr Penelope Ridings is a New Zealand Barrister and International Law Consultant practising in the field of public international law, including law of the sea, fisheries, environmental law, international trade and investment law, and international dispute settlement. She has broad experience in public international law as a career diplomat with extensive practical experience in developing, implementing and adjudicating International Law. She was New Zealand Agent, Counsel and Advocate before the International Court of Justice in Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan, New Zealand Intervening) and Counsel and Advocate for New Zealand before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC). She has been an independent panellist in disputes before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has represented New Zealand as Counsel in WTO cases where New Zealand was a principal and third party in the dispute.
During her career in the New Zealand diplomatic service, Dr Ridings led the Legal Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2011-2015) and the Ministry’s Trade Law Unit (2004-2007). She has extensive practical experience in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements, representing the Government in multilateral and bilateral negotiations, and providing international legal advice across a wide range of international legal issues. She also served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (2008-2011) and High Commissioner to Samoa (2001-2004). In 2015 she was granted the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for Services to the State. New Zealand is nominating Dr Ridings as a candidate for the International Law Commission for the 2022-2026 term.