Ngati Apa v Attorney-General
Indigenous rights case of New Zealand's Court of Appeal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ngati Apa v Attorney-General was a landmark legal decision that sparked the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy. The case arose from an application by eight northern South Island iwi for orders declaring the foreshore and seabed of the Marlborough Sounds Maori customary land.[1] After lower court decisions and consequent appeals in the Maori Land Court, the Maori Appellate Court and the High Court; the Court of Appeal unanimously held that the Maori Land Court had jurisdiction to determine whether areas of foreshore and seabed were Maori customary land or not. The court also held that, "The transfer of sovereignty did not affect customary property. They are interests preserved by the common law until extinguished in accordance with the law".[2] The effect of the decision was subsequently overturned by the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
Ngati Apa v Attorney-General | |
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Court | Court of Appeal of New Zealand |
Full case name | Ngati Apa & Anor v. Attorney-General & Others |
Decided | 19 June 2003 |
Citation(s) | [2003] NZCA 117; [2003] 3 NZLR 643 |
Transcript(s) | Available here |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | [2002] 2 NZLR 661 (HC) |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Elias CJ, Gault P, Keith, Tipping & Anderson JJ |
Keywords | |
Foreshore and seabed, Aboriginal title, Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 |