Editing Silvia Cartwright (section)

===Legal career===
In 1989, Cartwright became the first female Chief District Court Judge, and in 1993 she was the first woman to be appointed to the [[New Zealand High Court|High Court]].<ref name=govbio>{{cite press release |url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/node/8301 |title=PM welcomes Governor-General-designate |publisher=New Zealand Government |date=24 August 2000 |accessdate=7 August 2010}}</ref>

Cartwright presided over a 1988 inquiry into issues related to cervical cancer and its treatment at Auckland's National Women's Hospital, known as the [[Cartwright Inquiry]]. Cartwright has previously served on the [[Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]],<ref name=govbio/> and played a major role in the drafting of the [[Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior51/004/1997/en/ |title=The Optional Protocol to the Women's Convention: Enabling Women to Claim their Rights at the International Level |publisher=Amnesty International |year=1997 |accessdate=7 August 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Silvia Cartwright |title=Rights and Remedies: The Drafting of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women |journal=Otago Law Review |volume=9 |pages=239 |year=1998}}</ref>

In 2007, in recognition for Cartwright's work as a lawyer, the Auckland Women Lawyers' Association established a lecture known as the Dame Silvia Cartwright Lecture Series.<ref>{{cite web|author=Auckland District Law Society – Law News|url=http://www.adls.org.nz/profession/lawnews/2007/issueno24/ln2401.asp|title=Dame Silvia – making a difference to our world|date=6 July 2007|accessdate=11 July 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222138/http://www.adls.org.nz/profession/lawnews/2007/issueno24/ln2401.asp |archivedate=27 September 2007}}</ref>