The Waitangi Tribunal

Running head: THE WAITAGI TRIBUNAL
The Waitangi Tribunal
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THE WAITAGI TRIBUNAL 1
The Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry which is
responsible for investigating any breaches of the Waitangi treaty. The Waitangi treaty was an
agreement between the British and the Māori people. The Māori people are the original people of
New Zealand. In the treaty the Māori were to cede sovereignty of New Zealand to the British and
to give them an exclusive right to buy land they were willing to sell1. In return the Maori were to
be given full rights of ownership of their land, fisheries, forests and other properties and be given
rights and privileges of the British people. The British however did not honor their part of the
deal. They started invading their land and other resources.
The tribunal is made of 20 members who are appointed on the basis or merit2. Half of
them must be from the Māori community. The chair is the chief judge serving the Māori land
court and the deputy is the deputy chief judge Māori in that same land court. Each inquiry is
carried out by a panel of three to seven members and each panel must consist of one Māori
member. All of these people must be qualified to hold the various positions of leadership under
the Waitangi tribunal3. For them to be selected to serve in these positions, the process is done on
a very serious note such that no one unqualified person can hold any position. Based on this the
tribunal is intended to solve issues that affect the Maori community in the most amicable way
possible.
1 Belgrave, Michael. "Something borrowed, something new: history and the Waitangi
Tribunal." The Public History Reader. London (2013).
2 Hayward, Janine, and Nicola Wheen, eds. The Waitangi Tribunal: Te Roopu Whakamana i te
Tiriti o Waitangi. Bridget Williams Books, 2016.
3 Tribunal, Waitangi. "Ko Aotearoa tēnei: a report into claims concerning New Zealand law and
policy affecting Māori culture and identity. Te taumata tuatahi." Wellington, Legislation
Direct (2011).

THE WAITAGI TRIBUNAL 2
For a claim to reach the inquiry stage, it goes through various stages. The first one is the
submission stage. This is where the claim is lodged and assessed to determine whether it meets
the requirements of registration. For a claim to be registered, one must be of the Māori origin and
must prove there was breach of contract and that the claimant(s) was adversely affected4. It must
also be seen that the British actions were not in line with the agreements of the treaty of
Waitangi. However, since the British people are not part of the Maori, the tribunal could not
solve some of the issues emanating from the actions of the whites.
If a claim meets the requirements, it is registered and given a ‘wai’ number. The claimant
and other interested parties are notified. In case the claim falls short of the requirements, the
claimant is asked to produce more evidence. Next, claimants apply for financial aid so as to meet
the legal costs. Related claims are then grouped together to form what is known as an inquiry.
Research then begins5. This is characterized by gathering evidence from various sources to
present a well-founded claim. Sources of information may include site visits, historical reports,
and photographs among others. The evidence is then re-examined to make sure that it meets the
required standards. Research that requires a technical approach is usually carried out by experts
hired by the tribunal. This is intended to ensure that before the tribunal can solve any issue, it has
all evidence needed for it to come up with the right and best solution possible.
The next stage is the hearing stage where all concerned parties table their evidence before
the tribunal. Participants are allowed to ask questions on evidence being presented. Hearings are
open to the public and mostly take place in Marae but can also take place in hotels, conference
4 Brookfield, Frederic Morris. Waitangi and indigenous rights: Revolution, law and legitimation.
Auckland University Press, 2013.
5Tribunal, Waitangi. "He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti the Declaration and the Treaty: the report on
stage 1 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry." Lower Hutt, New Zealand: Legislation
Direct (2014).