Indigenous Rights: New Zealand

doi:10.1017/9781108699068.015

14 - Indigenous Rights: New Zealand

from V - Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 February 2022

Matthew S. R. Palmer

Edited by

David S. Law

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David S. Law: Affiliation:
University of Virginia

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Summary

The modern state of New Zealand was founded on the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and indigenous Maori tribes. New Zealand’s partly uncodified, partly unwritten constitution is thus structured around questions of indigenous rights and the treaty relationship between the Maori and the Crown. This chapter examines how and why the Treaty and indigenous rights play a fundamental role in New Zealand’s constitutional system, and it uses the example of New Zealand to challenge conventional understandings as to what counts as a “constitution.”

Keywords

New Zealand Indigenous rights Māori Treaty of Waitangi Constitutional Culture Waitangi Tribunal The SOEs Case Unwritten Constitution Constitutional Context Legal Recognition of Indigenous Rights United Kingdom Colonialism Crown Colony Political Constitution United States Canada Australia International Treaties

Type: Chapter
Information: Constitutionalism in Context , pp. 303 - 329

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108699068.015 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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References

Primary Sources

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