Court of Appeal decision on jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court and Māori customary title…

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal has assessed the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court and considered the relationship between Māori customary land and the land transfer regime in New Zealand. The case concerns claims in relation to specified areas of the Waikato Riverbed, its waters and adjacent land.

From 2002 to 2009, certificates of title in respect of parts of the Waikato Riverbed were issued to the Crown, eventually coming to be held by a large power company. In 2019, twelve hapū and a Māori land trust filed an application in the Māori Land Court, claiming tikanga rights, interests and responsibilities in specified areas of the riverbed. In the Māori Land Court, they sought an order that the riverbed at Pouakani is Māori customary land, the Cown holds title to the riverbed as a fiduciary for the true Māori owners, as well as a declaration that the hapū are the owners of the river water that flows over the riverbed. The power company applied to have the application struck out due to the indefeasibility of their title to the land and the lack of the Māori Land Courts jurisdiction to consider interests in water or fiduciary duties.

The Māori Land Court declined the strike-out application. The power company applied to the High Court for judicial review of that decision. The High Court determined that the Māori Land Court has no jurisdiction to inquire into fiduciary duty claims to General land or Crown land and no jurisdiction to make declarations about the ownership of water but allowed the Māori Land Court to consider the customary land claim. Both the claimants and the power company appealed the aspects of that decision that did not favour their position.

The case came before the Court of Appeal in March 2026.

In determining whether the Māori Land Court have jurisdiction to consider the water claim, the Court of Appeal decided it did not. It accepted the position in te ao Māori that water is inherently interconnected with land but did not accept that this means the Māori Land Court has jurisdiction to consider a claim relating only to water under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.

The text and purpose of the Act, considered in light of tikanga, does not give the Māori Land Court jurisdiction to determine claims of water where there is no land with any legal status on which to ground the claim. The Court of Appeal stated that this claim may be considered by the High Court.

The Court of Appeal dealt with the fiduciary duty claim with regard to one of its own previous decisions where it decided that the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act does not extend jurisdiction to hear fiduciary claims about general or Crown land to the Māori Land Court. Ordinarily, the Court is bound by its previous decision, unless the specific cases warrant departing from that decision. The Court of Appeal did not consider departure justified in this case. As such, the fiduciary duty claim may also be considered by the High Court.  

Finally, the Court had to decide if the customary land claim was untenable because of the power company’s indefeasible (absolute) title. With regard to case law, the Court decided that priority must be given to indefeasibility under the Land Transfer regime. Parliament did not intend to create Māori customary title as an exception. Because of this priority, the claim that the riverbed is Māori customary land was considered legally untenable and therefore dismissed.

On each of these primary issues, the Court found in favour of the power company. This decision may face further appeal to the Supreme Court, but as it stands, this decision is significant for its impact on the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court, as well as the relationship between Māori customary land and the land transfer regime in New Zealand.

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