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Reconstituting the Constitution: Opening Address II

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Reconstituting the Constitution

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Abstract

The address summarises some contemporary issues for New Zealand’s constitution. The old chestnut of whether New Zealand should become a republic has resurfaced. While some argue that the monarchy is irrelevant, for others the Crown has inherent symbolic importance. There have been calls for a written constitution, but whether that suits New Zealand’s incremental legal development is questionable. The status of the Treaty of Waitangi is also at issue. The changing cultural demographic, consequences of the Treaty’s position outside law and New Zealand’s ratification of a declaration affirming the rights of indigenous peoples have led to calls for the Treaty to be justicable. Finally, social and economic rights are beginning to be recognised as worthy of legal protection. Whatever the end result, Parliament must seek the participation of civil society in any significant constitutional revision. If the public is educated as to New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements and options for reform, the outcomes will reflect the consensus of the community.

Catherine Harwood is Judge’s Clerk at the New Zealand Court of Appeal. The views expressed are those of the author alone.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, section 6 as amended by the Treaty of Waitangi Amendment Act 1985, section 3(1).

  2. 2.

    Minister of Justice (Palmer G) (1985).

  3. 3.

    Brookfield (1995), p. 310.

  4. 4.

    Ibid, p. 310.

  5. 5.

    Ibid, p. 316.

  6. 6.

    Cox (2002–2003), p. 135.

  7. 7.

    Australian Electoral Commission (2007).

  8. 8.

    See a comparative discussion in Cox (2002–2003).

  9. 9.

    In addition, commentators have indicated that both these countries are moving towards codification, either formally (in the case of Israel) or informally (in the case of Britain). See Palmer (2006), p. 591.

  10. 10.

    Colmar Brunton Poll (2004).

  11. 11.

    Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea chapter 5articles 64–65, 67–68, 70, 73–75 and 79.

  12. 12.

    Quote attributed to Professor Griffiths as cited in Palmer (2006), p. 592.

  13. 13.

    Palmer (2006), p. 608.

  14. 14.

    Llewellyn (1934), p. 17; ibid, p. 593.

  15. 15.

    Dicey (1959), chapter 1.

  16. 16.

    See for instance Parliament’s affirmation of the balance of the respective powers in the Supreme Court Act 2003, section 3(2) which provides “[n]othing in this Act affects New Zealand’s continuing commitment to the rule of law and the sovereignty of Parliament.”

  17. 17.

    The occupations in order of respectability run as follows: nurses, doctors, teachers, police, dairy farmers, sheep farmers then the judiciary. See Priestley (2009), p. 11.

  18. 18.

    Ministry of Health (2010). See also Statistics New Zealand (2010).

  19. 19.

    Harris (2004), p. 292. A similar view is expressed in Baragwanath (2008), p. 13.

  20. 20.

    United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2005).

  21. 21.

    Waitangi Tribunal (2004); Harris (2005), p. 201.

  22. 22.

    United Nations (2007). The Declaration was ratified by New Zealand on 20 April 2010.

  23. 23.

    Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, section 6AA provides that Māori cannot bring historical Treaty claims after 1 September 2008.

  24. 24.

    United Nations (2007), Preamble, article 3 and article 5.

  25. 25.

    See for example Bedggood (1998), p. 345.

  26. 26.

    For instance, the right to education is a social right and is prescribed by the Education Act 1989, section 3.

  27. 27.

    See for example In re Certification of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 (4) SA 744 (CC) and Government of the Republic of South Africa v Grootboom 2000 (11) BCLR 1169 (CC).

  28. 28.

    Higgins (1994), p. 102.

  29. 29.

    Joseph (1993), p. 99: “If asked, most New Zealanders would reply that they have never heard of the Constitution Act 1986.” See also Harris (2005), p. 301; Priestley (2009), p. 12; and the recommendations contained in Constitutional Arrangements Committee (2005).

  30. 30.

    Harris (2005), p. 283.

  31. 31.

    Ibid, p. 273.

  32. 32.

    Cartwright (2001), p. 15.

  33. 33.

    Harris (2005), p. 283.

  34. 34.

    Ibid, p. 310.

  35. 35.

    Ibid, p. 283.

  36. 36.

    Baragwanath (2007), p. 10.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellington, New Zealand

    Catherine Harwood

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  1. Catherine Harwood
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Correspondence to Catherine Harwood .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom

    Caroline Morris

  2. , Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Jonathan Boston

  3. , Faculty of Law, Victoria University, Wellington, Lambton Quay 15, Wellington, New Zealand

    Petra Butler

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Harwood, C. (2011). Reconstituting the Constitution: Opening Address II. In: Morris, C., Boston, J., Butler, P. (eds) Reconstituting the Constitution. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21572-8_3

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