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A senior King’s Counsel says New Zealanders increasingly believe the country has “an activist judiciary” and society will be damaged if Parliament does not block compulsory Tikanga Māori courses for law students.
Judd told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast if the committee decided not to uphold his complaint, and if Parliament did not act on it, “they will essentially be seen to be giving the green light to what is really just political activism”.
The New Zealand Council of Legal Education, however, earlier said teaching tikanga was essential in legal education given references to it in Acts of Parliament and the Supreme Court’s acknowledgement of it as part of New Zealand law.
Māori Law Society Hunga Roia Māori president Tai Ahu earlier said teaching tikanga, and its inclusion in the legal system, “is not something ... to be scared about” saying the law evolved “just like tikanga and our common law would increasingly reflect Māori perspectives”.
University of Auckland Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey disagreed with Judd’s complaint and said having a curriculum that reflected New Zealand’s pre- and post-colonial history created “a more informed jurisprudence [legal theory]”.
Kelsey did say, however, she thought making tikanga a compulsory part of legal education may have been rushed through without bringing everybody on board and establishing a good understanding of its relevance.
“The last thing we need is for senior counsel and senior politicians to take us back to the infamous days ... that said Māori were not civilised enough to have a system of law,” she said.
Judd said he believed a legal system inclusive of tikanga “is very, very damaging to New Zealand, socially and economically”.
“It’s not really law at all,” he said.
Jane Kelsey has disagreed with the complaint. Photo / Michael Craig
“For a custom to be accepted as law, it had to be certain, consistent, reasonable, and it had to be not repugnant to justice and morality.
“If judges were doing their job properly, they would have said, ‘tikanga cannot satisfy these requirements, therefore we reject the notion of tikanga being part of the law’.”
He said his complaint created a “watershed moment” for Parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has supported Judd’s complaint, calling tikanga education “cultural indoctrination”.
The New Zealand Council of Legal Education said it is satisfied the correct procedures with the tikanga Māori requirements have been followed, including appropriate consultation.
“The council is disappointed that these issues were not raised with us before being published in the media,” the council said.
It said the council would respond further in the Regulations Review Committee if asked.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
