Recognition of Tikanga Māori and the Constitutional Myth of Monolegalism: Reinterpreting Case Law
19 Pages Posted: 14 Apr 2019
Date Written: January 15, 2019
Abstract
Since the end of the 19th Century New Zealand’s prevailing constitutional narrative has been that New Zealand is monolegal in the sense that only state law has authority, with legislation at the pinnacle as an expression of Parliament’s sovereignty. Under this presumption, tikanga Māori only has authority when it is incorporated into state law via the rules of state law regulating accommodation. [has independent authority as a matter of tikanga but that independent authority is not recognized by the state]. In this chapter, I attempt to illustrate that it is more accurate to read cases involving tikanga Māori in accordance with a more pluralist constitutional narrative, one in which state law recognises tikanga Māori as an independent authoritative source of law in Aotearoa.
Keywords: Indigenous peoples' rights; customary law; pluralism; public law
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