Does New Zealand law need a constitutional change?

Detailed summary

Unjust, illegitimate and illegal is how a legal scholar describes New Zealand's constitution in her new book, which calls for fundamental change to constitutional law.

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Unjust, illegitimate and illegal is how a legal scholar describes New Zealand's constitution in her new book, which calls for fundamental change to constitutional law.

Professor Claire Charters told RNZ's Saturday Morning Aotearoa was unique in that it didn't have a single written constitutional document.

"Very unusual, one of only a couple in the world... our constitution is made up of statutes and conventions and law made by the courts, so that might include statutes like the Human Rights Act."

Another unusual point in the country's legal makeup is that courts cannot overturn legislation that is inconsistent with rights or what could be understood as fundamental constitutional values.

Charters discusses what this means for the country from a Māori perspective, something she said was lacking and necessary for everyone

"I do think that if you're in a nation that doesn't respect Māori rights or the rights of refugees or other groups... I think that's a problem for everyone.

"To live in a state where rights of any group are subject to being overturned is a problem for everyone."

She argues New Zealand has some of the weakest levels of legal protection globally when it comes to indigenous sovereignty.

Opening of the article, excerpted from RNZ. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.