Juridical Encounters: Māori and the Colonial Courts, 1840-1852.

Abstract

Juridical Encounters: Māori and the Colonial Courts, 1840-1852 by Shaunnagh Dorsett is an engaging and nuanced study of the development of colonial laws and institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand and the expansion of the jurisdiction of state law that begins in this period. The issues explored in the book – relating to the relationship between the law of the settler state and Indigenous law; the recognition of Māori law by the state legal system; and the authority with which Māori and state law speak – remain live issues today. Studying how those issues were addressed during the Crown colony period helps us to understand the current relationship between Māori law and state law, how we arrived at this point, and, crucially, it helps us to think about how to approach that relationship with legal techniques appropriate to the social and political context and objectives of the 21st century.