May 10, 2024
Māori lawyers back tikanga study
The Māori Law Society Hunga Roia Māori – the Māori Law Society is defending the introduction of compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students.
King’s Counsel Gary Judd has asked parliament’s Regulations Review Committee to veto the new course because he says it wasn’t properly regulated, and tīkanga is a system of beliefs, not law.
Society president Tai Ahu says Mr Judd’s position seems to be that only English law can be considered proper law.
“The common law continues to evolve, just like tikanga also continues to evolve – and it’s evolved in a direction that reflects Maori thinking. So it’s not something that needs to be scared about – although I recognise that for some it’s quite an intimidating prospect, but I’ve got faith in our democratic institutions and our judges to be able to cope with that,” he says.
Mr Ahu says Maori had their own laws or tīkanga long before pākeha arrived in Aotearoa – and they should be a compulsory part of modern New Zealand law studies.