Law of New Zealand

The law of New Zealand can be found in several sources. The primary sources of New Zealand law are statutes enacted by the New Zealand Parliament and decisions of the Courts of New Zealand. At a more fundamental level, the law of New Zealand is based on three related principles: parliamentary sovereignty; the rule of law; and the separation of powers. As a former British colony, the New Zealand legal system is heavily based on the English law, and remains similar in many respects. There are also important differences, which reflect the unique legal culture that has developed in New Zealand.

Before 1840 there was no formal legal system in New Zealand. Māori chiefs held the power to punish people for misdeeds but this power, though dependent on custom and the broad support of the rest of the iwi, was arbitrary rather than based on a code of laws. Tohunga (priests) could also use supernatural means to punish those who violated the code of tapu, a spiritual belief system which controlled much of pre-Christian Māori life. The arrival of Europeans from the late eighteenth century undermined the power of both chief and tohunga. Europeans did not believe in tapu and widely violated it, and this, along with the influence of Christian missionaries, led Māori to doubt the effectiveness of the tohunga. The transient nature of many Europeans also made it difficult for chiefs to impose justice on them. As a result, New Zealand became increasingly lawless.

The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, is widely believed to have established British law in New Zealand. However, there are numerous problems with this theory. Firstly, the Māori and English language versions of the Treaty are substantially different. The English version transfers sovereignty to Queen Victoria (in clause one) and grants Māori the rights of British subjects (in clause three). Although no specific mention is made in the Treaty of any legal system, these two clauses seem to imply that British law would be established in New Zealand. The Māori version, however, states that Victoria receives kawanatanga (governorship) while the chiefs retain tino rangatiratanga (absolute chieftainship) in clause two as opposed to the property rights promised in the English version. Although the third clause of the Māori version says that the Queen would treat Māori the same as people in England, many historians argue that Māori believed that the new governor would exercise his powers over the Europeans only, and that the chiefs would continue to rule over Māori. In the eyes of some modern Māori, the New Zealand legal system is invalid as it violates the Treaty's promise of tino rangatiratanga (chieftainship).

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