Legal Question in Constitutional Law in New Zealand (Aotearoa)
nz parliment and Treaty of Waitangi
why the New Zealand parliment is not legally bound to legislate only in conformity with the Treaty of Waitangi
Asked on 4/05/08, 3:51 am
1 Answer from Attorneys
Simon Laurent
LaurentLaw Barristers & Solicitors
Re: nz parliment and Treaty of Waitangi
Because the Treaty of Waitangi is not the only document upon which our constitution is based.
There are also considerable difficulties in establishing what the Treaty means legally - it was not drafted like legislation and there are a number of ambiguities in its wording and there are several translations of it. This has prevented its adoption as a true legislative document.
Answered on 4/06/08, 5:18 pm