Māori Land Court

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


New Zealand
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of New Zealand

Constitution Executive (The Crown) Sovereign (Queen Elizabeth II) Governor General of New Zealand (Anand Satyanand) Executive Council Cabinet Prime Minister (Rt Hon Helen Clark) Ministries Government of New Zealand Legislative (Parliament) Statute of Westminster 1931 Current Parliament (48th) House of Representatives Speaker of the House (Margaret Wilson) Official Opposition Leader of the Opposition (John Key) Referendums Elections Parliamentary constituencies Electoral system Electoral reform Last election (2005) Judicial Supreme Court Chief Justice (Sian Elias) Courts of Appeal High Court District Courts Environment Court Māori Land Court Regions and territories Realm of New Zealand Territorial authorities of New Zealand North Island South Island Stewart Island/Rakiura Chatham Islands General Regions Political culture Foreign relations New Zealand's nuclear-free zone Comparison of Australian and New Zealand governments Political movements

Other countries · Atlas Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The Māori Land Court (Māori: Te Kooti Whenua Māori) is the specialist court in New Zealand that hears matters relating to Māori land.

The Māori Land Court was established in 1865 as the Native Land Court. In 1954, the name was changed to the Māori Land Court. Originally the court was established to translate customary Māori land claims into legal land titles recognisable under English law. In 1993, the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act expanded the court's jurisdiction to allow it to hear cases on all matters related to Māori land.

Appeals from the Māori Land Court are heard by the Māori Appellate Court, which consists of a panel of three judges of the Māori Land Court. The Māori Land Court or the Māori Appellate Court may request an opinion on a matter of law from the High Court of New Zealand; such decisions are binding on the Māori Land Court.

The court has no centralised courthouse but sits in various cities and towns in New Zealand as needed. The court maintains main offices in Wellington, Whangarei, Rotorua, Hastings, Gisborne, and Christchurch. It also has less comprehensive branch offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Turangi, and Whanganui.

[edit] References

Tom Bennion (1997). The Maori Land Court and Land Boards, 1909 to 1952 (Wellington: Waitangi Tribunal)
Richard Boast (1999). Maori Land Law (Wellington: Butterworths)
Joe Williams (2001). Maori Land Court: A Separate Legal System? (Wellington: NZ Centre for Public Law)