Compulsory teaching of tikanga Māori in the legal curriculum w/ co-Tumuaki at Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, the Māori Law Society, Tai Ahu (Waikato, Ngāti Kahu (Te Paatu)): 21st May, 2024.

From January 1, 2025, the New Zealand Council of Legal Education has plans to make teaching tikanga Māori and te ao Māori compulsory in the legal curriculum for students, meaning all core law courses will have a compulsory tikanga Māori component.

On the 7th of May, King’s Counsel Gary Judd filed a complaint to the Government’s Regulations Review Committee over this move, claiming that tikanga didn’t fall under “proper law subjects”.

Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to co-Tumuaki at Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, the Māori Law Society, Tai Ahu (Waikato, Ngāti Kahu (Te Paatu)), about these changes to the legal curriculum and the role of tikanga Māori in law.