Tikanga Flashcards
Tikanga is…
The first law of NZ
It is a set of values, customs, practices and laws that operate within Te Ao Maori/ the Maori Word.
What are the similarities of the NZ and English legal systems?
Same institutions
Same methods
Lawmaking by an elected legislature
Trial by jury
Precedent based decision making - rather than relied on code.
What are the differences of the NZ and English legal systems?
NZ has no seperate court of Equity
NZ has a unicameral legislature (1 chamber = House of Reps)
NZ has more flexibility through there being no distinction between Solicitor and Barrister
What is the basic explanation of English arriving in NZ (what happened)?
- English common law arrived with settlers and crown
- This contained a doctrine which recognises pre existing local customs and laws.
- This meant that Tikanga didn’t disappear and they lived alongside eachother peacefully
- The crown then took over all ownership and title of land by dominion.
- This left Maori with land and Tikanga attatched to it.
- But overtime, they used legislation to extinguish their land rights
- This left the crown with land and legal title, obtained through legislation.
What is Tikanga based on?
Values, instead of rules
The defining principle of the Tikanga legal system is
Whanaungatanga/ Kinship
Who was, from the Maori perspective, the first person to discover NZ?
And what did he say?
Kupe
“He ao he ao he Aotearoa”
Whanaungatanga =
Informs human relationships with physcial + spiritual world
‘Family’ is broad - inclusive of many things like kiwi, mountains, iwi etc.
Means extended family, relationships and responsibilities
–> Don’t own anything, instead have a relationship with it
Good quote: “Whanaungatanga is the …. that….”
Who says this?
“Whanaungatanga is the glue that holds the Maori world together” - Justice Joe Williams
What are 4 others values
- Mana = authority, control, influence, prestiege and power
- Tapu = sacred, respect, different roles
- Utu = reciprocity, trying to maintain a balance between good and bad
- Kaitiakitanga = stewardship and gaurdianship.
Abel Tasman did what?
Vs
James Cook did what?
Sights NZ and names it
Circumnavigates it and maps it
What is the easiest way to gain empire and domain of land?
When you are the first people on the land
What do you have to do to claim empire and domain of land when your the first people there?
Display a permanent residence through putting flag and burrying money etc
Can you still still take property and soverignty if you are not the first people on the land? How?
Yes, if the current occupier is erratic with a scanty population
Savages who make no actual constant use of land
Imperium =
Sovereignty
Who has control and power to make decisions
Dominion =
Property/ land rights
Who owns the land
Cession =
Giving up rights consensually
BASIC events of English collonisation to NZ (1-2 word answers)?
- 80 years of Maori and English living alongside
- British reconised soverignty
- French influence
- Independance of NZ
- Change in language towards Maori
- Letters Patent
- Britian issues instructions to aknowledge NZ as soverign
- Govenor Gipps Proclamations
- Treaty signing
- Hobsons Proclamations
- Ratification of Hobsons Proclamations
What was the key difference between The Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti O Waitangi?
Te Tiriti O Waitangi:
No cession is ceeded by Maori, they retain imperium and dominion
The Treaty of Waitangi:
Cession is ceeded by Maori, but Maori retain property
What are the 3 ways to gain soverignty when the land is already inhabited?
- Cession = giving up rights formally (treaty etc)
- Discovery = first there, putting flag and money, doctrine of discovery (can take over land if people are not civilised enough)
- Conquest = force, winning a big war
How to aquire dominion on land already inhabited
Doctrine of Native Title
There can be a change in soverignty but the old owners would still remain the owners of land
BUT if the original owners are classified as uncivilised by the Europeans, then this international law held a loophole that enabled the taking of these people’s lands.
- According to de vattel: it would not matter if the land was already inhabited if the other nations were erratic, had a scanty population, were incapable or occupying the whole land, held unsettled habitation, and were savages who made no constant and actual use of land
What is important to consider with the Doctrine of Native title
Who is deciding that the current inhabitants are not civilised enough?
Why is Tikanga important in common law?
Continues to regulate lives as it is the first law and reflects values older than our nation
It embodies the cultural herritage and values of our country
Shaped broader values of soceity
The common law must serve all - including Maori
It has been applied by the courts as a source of enforcable rights for many years.
Why do we learn Tikanga/ the first law
Courts say it is relevant
- Ellis v R
Parliment says it is relevant
- Referenced in legislation
NZ law comission says its relevant
NZ law soceity says its relevant
- Dynamic, developing area of law, spoken in court, clients with tikanga isses
Clients want it (Maori and non-Maori) - helps lawyers to understand their clients customs and values
Ensures they are equipped to navigate cases where tikanga is a factor