Sir Peter Blanchard (born 2 August 1942) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
Biography Blanchard was born in the Auckland suburb of Epsom on 2 August 1942, the son of Cyril and Zora Blanchard. His father served as a flying officer with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II, and died during air operations over Germany on 26 May 1943.
In 1968, Blanchard received a Master of Laws degree from the University of Auckland Law School. He was then awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship from Harvard Law School where he received a master's degree in law. He specialised in commercial, insolvency and property law as a partner at the Auckland law firms of Grierson Jackson & Partners (1968–1983) and Simpson Grierson (1983 to 1992).
In 1992, Blanchard was appointed as a judge of the High Court of New Zealand"Appointment of Judge of High Court" (9 July 1992) 105 New Zealand Gazette 2371 at 2375. and in 1996, he was appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand."Appointment of Judge of Court of Appeal" (15 February 1996) 13 New Zealand Gazette 421 at 444.
In 1998 Blanchard was appointed as a New Zealand member of the Privy Council"Appointments to the Privy Council" (28 May 1998) 74 New Zealand 1613 at 1644. and in 2004 was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Zealand."Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court" (20 November 2003) 157 New Zealand Gazette 4333 at 4357. Appointment to the Privy Council grants the right to use the style of The Right Honourable so Blanchard became The Right Honourable Justice Blanchard.
In the 2005 New Year Honours, Blanchard was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the judiciary, and in 2009 he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit following the reintroduction of titular honours by the government.Special Honours List (12 August 2009) 118 New Zealand Gazette 2691
Blanchard has also served as an expatriate justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji and the Court of Appeal of Kiribati. On 4 August 2021 he was appointed as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of Samoa for a term of two years.
He also serves as a commercial court judge, applying English Common Law, on the ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) Courts.
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