Ngāti Porou

Deputy Chief Judge Caren Fox was appointed to the Māori Land Court on 1 October 2000 and was later appointed as Deputy Chief Judge on 20 February 2010.

She is located in Gisborne and is the resident Judge for the Tairāwhiti District of the Māori Land Court, hearing cases in Ruatōria and Gisborne.

Before becoming a Judge, Deputy Chief Judge Fox was a lecturer in law at Victoria University, and a Senior Lecturer in law and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Waikato. In addition, she acted as legal counsel for Treaty claimants and Māori land clients.

A specialist in international human rights, Deputy Chief Judge Fox was a Harkness Fellow to the USA from 1991 to 1992 and a Pacific Fellow in Human Rights Education employed by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation 1997-1999. For her work in human rights she won the NZ Human Rights Commission 2000 Millennium Medal.

Deputy Chief Judge Fox has also been the presiding officer for the Waitangi Tribunal on the Aquaculture claims, the Te Arawa Mandate and Settlement claims, Central North Island Stage 1 claims, the Te Kohanga Reo claims and the Te Rohe Potae claims. She is currently the presiding officer for the Porirua ki Manawatu claims.

Deputy Chief Judge Fox was also appointed as an Alternate Environment Court Judge in 2009.