Bar Association Says Tikanga Education Is Needed For Law Students

The New Zealand Bar Association | Nga Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture, supports legal education for law students and lawyers in Te Ao Māori, including tikanga.

In July 2021, our Association was consulted by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education on the inclusion of teaching on Tikanga Māori in the legal education curriculum. We expressed our support for this at the time. We continue to do so.

We also support the views of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa | The Māori Law Society, about the necessity for this addition to law students’ legal education.

Graduates of our law schools need to have a firm grounding in the statutory frameworks and case law that incorporate tikanga. Tikanga is also recognised as an important area of continuing professional development for lawyers in practice and this training is well attended.

We encourage interested lawyers and members of the public to read the September 2023 Study Paper He Poutama (NZLC SP24) from the Law Commission, Te Aka Matua o te Ture, produced under the leadership of the Hon. Justice Whata, Commissioner of the Law Commission. Refer to this link.

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