Waitangi Tribunal

( Condensed from the official Waitangi Tribunal site)

The Waitangi Tribunal was established by Act of Parliament in 1975 at a time when protests about unresolved Treaty [of Waitangi] grievances were growing to povide a legal process by which Maori Treaty claims could be investigated.

The inquiry process contributes to the resolution of Treaty claims and, in that way, to the reconciliation of outstanding issues between Maori and Pakeha.

The Waitangi Tribunal is unusual in that it was established as a permanent commission of inquiry. For this reason, it differs from a court in several important respects:

• Generally, the Tribunal has authority only to make recommendations. In certain limited situations, the Tribunal does have binding powers, but in most instances, its recommendations do not bind the Crown, the claimants, or any others participating in its inquiries. In contrast, courts can make rulings that bind the parties to whom they relate.

• The Tribunal's process is more inquisitorial and less adversarial than that followed in the courts. In particular, it can conduct its own research so as to try to find the truth of a matter. Generally, a court must decide a matter solely on the evidence and legal arguments that the parties present to it.

• The Tribunal's process is flexible - the Tribunal is not necessarily required to follow the rules of evidence that generally apply in the courts, and it may adapt its procedures as it thinks fit. For example, the Tribunal may follow 'te kawa o te marae'. In contrast, the procedure in courts is much less flexible, and there are normally strict rules of evidence to be followed.

• The Tribunal does not have final authority to decide points of law. That power rests with the courts. However, the Tribunal has exclusive authority to determine the meaning and effect of the Treaty as it is embodied in both the Maori and the English texts.

• The Tribunal has a limited power to summons witnesses, require the production of documents, and maintain order at its hearings. But it does not have a general power to make orders preventing something from happening or compelling something to happen. Nor can it make a party to Tribunal proceedings pay costs.

Key Points

• The Tribunal does not settle claims; it only makes recommendations to the Government. It is not involved in the settlement process, and claimants agree not to pursue matters through the Tribunal while they are engaged in the negotiation process.

• Claims are settled by negotiation with the Government. The Office of Treaty Settlements manages the negotiation of Treaty settlements for the Government, and all matters related to negotiations should be addressed to that office.

• The Tribunal cannot make recommendations over the return of private land. It may inquire into and report on claims relating to land that is privately owned, but unless the land is memorialised, the Tribunal may not recommend that it be returned to Maori ownership or that the Crown acquire it. (Memorialised lands are lands owned, or formerly owned, by a State-owned enterprise or a tertiary institution, or former New Zealand Railways lands, that have a memorial (or notation) on their certificate of title advising that the Waitangi Tribunal may recommend that the land be returned to Maori ownership.)

• The Tribunal can register the claim of any Maori with a grievance against a policy, practice, act, or omission of the Crown. The Tribunal is not required to check that a claimant has a mandate from any group, but it may refuse to inquire into a claim that is considered to be frivolous or vexatious.

The Tribunal process is inquisitorial, not adversarial. It seeks to get to the truth of the matter. The aim is to determine whether a claim is well founded.