October 18, 2022
Tikanga still subordinate in law
A Māori expert on indigenous law says using tikanga in New Zealand law could be a two-edged sword.
The Supreme Court this month quashed the convictions of former Christchurch creche worker Peter Ellis after allowing the appeal to continue after his death based on the argument that mana still exists posthumously.
Carwyn Jones from Te Wananga o Raukawa’s Māori laws and philosophy programme says the case may be of limited use for Maori.
“The concern that I have really is that they are still subordinating tikanga really to the common law, they’re still saying we will take tikanga into account but it will be a common law that will determine how tikanga will apply and what weight it will be given,” he says.
Dr Jones says a truly bi-cultural legal system needs the kind of constitutional transformation advocated for by the late Moana Jackson.