Judge who was instrumental in stopping All Blacks SA tour dies

One of New Zealand's district court judges, who was instrumental in grounding the 1985 All Blacks as they were preparing to tour South Africa, has died this week, aged 75.

According to an family notice published in the NZ Herald, Judge Philip Recordon "died peacefully after a courageous journey".

He was, the notice sid, a "beloved husband," "devoted father" and "cherished Koro".

Posts on the online notice said the retired judge was "an amazing, kind hearted man" and "my favourite judge".

One registrar commented: "You presided with compassion, humility and genuine care for all those who appeared before you. Some of whom were the most vulnerable in the system, whether it be in the criminal court, mental health courts or youth courts.

"You treated everyone with respect and dignity, no matter the crime they were accused of. You always saw the human underneath and acknowledged that first."

Recordon practised as a judge for 20 years before hanging up his robes last year. Before that, he was a barrister sole and then a lawyer, covering criminal law, civil litigation, immigration, tenancy and tribunal work.

According to The Law Association, Recordon was involved with a many community based organisations — the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, New Zealand Lawyers for Nuclear Disarmament, Lifeline, Richmond Fellowship, The Right Track, Māori and Pacific Wardens, being just a few.

His legal career "always very much [about] the underdog, whatever I did”, he said. “It was for the people who needed help."

One of Recordon's defining career momentswas his involvement in challenging the New Zealand Rugby Union’s decision to send the All Blacks to apartheid South Africa in 1985.

Recordon and another lawyer, supported by another legal team, claimed the rugby union's decision did not adhere to its rule to “promote, foster and develop” rugby within New Zealand.

In response, the union moved to strike out the claim, on the basis it was "frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of power".

Six days before the All Blacks were meant to depart for the tour, Recordon and his co-plaintiff succeed in their goal. Justice Maurice Casey, hearing the case, granted an interim injunction that stopped the All Blacks from jetting off until he could pass judgement.

The rugby union did not appeal the decision and the tour was cancelled.

After the fact, Recordon said the case served as a great example of the law being used as an effective tool.

But “I always felt a bit of a fraud [for] using the law to do what the country should have been persuaded to do",he said.

When asked at his retiement whether he enjoyed his 20 years as a judge, he said: “Yeah? I do now. I didn’t initially. But only now because I think I can help people. I didn’t initially because I thought I was just part of the system. But it didn’t take me long to realise you can do things that are different.”

The NZ Herald reported two other judges have also died this week: Rotorua acting warranted judge Jocelyn Munro died on Monday, and Invercargill judge Bernadette Farnan, died on Wednesday.