NCJ Number
195109
Date Published
March 2001
Length
241 pages
Annotation
This report profiles New Zealand's traditional Maori perspectives on justice, which encompass Maori cultural values and the traditional means of handling behavioral violations of those values.
Abstract
This is intended as an introductory guide rather than a definitive source; its value is as a resource document to assist in the formulation of policy that respects Maori traditions of justice in the implementation of New Zealand's justice policies toward Maori. The term for Maori custom is "tikanga," which is derived from the word "tika," which can cover a wide range of meanings, including right and proper, true, honest, just, personally and culturally correct, and upright. Tikanga does not involve a static set of rules; the Maori legal system was traditionally based on values, such that Maoris adhered to principles rather than a precise set of rules. Tikanga may thus be viewed as Maori principles for determining justice. Tikanga stemmed from and was inextricably woven into the spiritual and daily framework of Maori life. Besides its moral and ancestral authority, tikanga adds rationale, authoritativeness, and control. A discussion of traditional Maori concepts and customary law or tikanga is the foundation for Part One of this report. It focuses on whether Maori had a clear code of right and wrong and a developed system of law. A case study analysis is used to provide a practical understanding of the concepts discussed. The application of the values and principles that govern Maori society is illustrated in the case studies that compose Part Two. The kaumatua interviewed for this report grew up immersed in tikanga. The interviews with them focused on traditional dispute resolution methods, the principles inherent in Maori perspectives of justice, the causes of disputes in traditional Maori society, and Maori procedures for obtaining fairness and justice according to customary law. The case studies feature events mainly in the 1930's and 1940's, when Maori cultural values remained strong in some communities. Part Three of this report is a mixture of psychological, cultural, and theological principles that help interpret the Maori mind. Illustrations are provided to show some of the negative and positive behaviors that Maori recognized. Appended supplementary information, a 68-item bibliography, and a subject index