September 2025 Māori Law Review

Te tuku i te reo Māori ki te kōti – The use of te reo Māori in the courtroom – Aria Ngarimu

Aria Ngarimu (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Rongomaiwāhine, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) discusses the use of te reo Māori in the courtroom.

Te tuku i te reo Māori ki te kōti

Mai i te orokohanga o te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa (ko te Kōti Teitei inaianei) i te marama o Hakihea i te tau 1841,[1] kua kōrerotia te reo Māori i ngā kōti mo ngā take maha. Ahakoa tēnei, i hua mai te whakataunga kōti reorua tuatahi mai i te Kōti Whenua Māori i te tau 2022.[2]

I hua mai tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira mō te reo Māori nā rātou i whai wāhi ki ngā mahi kōti. Koia ko Judge Aidan Warren, ko Alana Thomas (he māngai mā ngā kaitono, he kaiwhakawā i ēnei rā tonu), rātou ko Tākuta Ruakere Hond. Nā Ms Thomas i whakamōhio atu ki te Kōti Whenua Māori ko te kēhi o ngā kaitono ka tuku i te reo Māori. Nā tēnei, i tohua e Judge Warren i a Tākuta Hond kia tū hei pūkenga kia hāpai te kōti i ngā take reo Māori, i ngā take tikanga anō hoki hei tā s 32A o Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. Kei te whakataunga o Judge Warren he wāhanga reo Māori, he wāhanga reo Pākehā hoki.

Ka whakapūmau te rārangi 7 (1) o Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 i te mana kia tuku i te reo Māori i ngā whakaherenga kōti. Heoi, ehara i te mea he ture herekore. Hei tauira,

  1. kāore i reira te mōtika kia tuku, kia whakahoki kōrero rānei te kōti ki a koe, heoi, e taea ana te kōti kia pōhiri mai he kaiwhakawhiti reo;[3]
  2. i ngā ngā Kōti ā-rohe me ngā kōti matua (haunga rā ētahi rerekētanga), me whakamōhiotia ngā hunga katoa e hia ana ki te kōrero Māori i tēnei pīrangi i ngā rā 10+ whai mua i tētahi kaupapa kōti;[4]
  3. mēnā kāore te hunga hia kōrero Māori i te whakamōhio atu ki te kōti i mua i ngā rā 10, ka pā atu pea tēnei i te tukunga pūtea.[5] Waihoki;
  4. e taea ana pea ngā hunga ki te whiwhi tuhinga kua whakamāori, heoi, e taea anake ana i ētahi horopaki. Hei tauira, mēnā ka whakatau e te kaituhi ka mārama anake te hunga i ngā tuhinga i te reo Māori.[6]

Ko te āhua nei he ritenga whaitake, heoi, he mea e herehere ana te āheinga me te wāteatanga o te reo Māori o ngā tāngata e whai wāhi ana ki ngā pūnaha kōti. Ko te ture “10 rā” he ārai anō mā ngā kaikōrero Māori. Waihoki, ko te ture e meatia me kuare te tangata ki te reo Pākehā kia whai tuhinga i te reo Māori, e hanga whakaatu ana i te whakaaro e mea ana me kaua tohaina ngā tuhinga reo Māori mēnā kāore i te tino whai take.

Kua rangona te reo Māori i te nuinga o ngā kōti o Aotearoa, inarā hoki i te Kōti Ture Whenua me te Kōti Rangatahi. Heoi, ko te take matua e rongo ai te reo Māori ko te pīrangi o ngā hunga e whai wāhi ana ki ēnei kōti. Nā runga i tā rātou pīrangi, e taea ana te whakatere i ngā aupiki, i ngā auheke o ngā whakaritenga kōti.[7] Nā runga i te uaua o te whai wāhi ki te reo i roto i ngā kōti, e whakaatu ana ēnei whakaritenga i te tūranga, i te mana o te reo Māori i rō kōti, ā, puta noa hoki i te motu. Ko te āhua nei ko te reo he mea takaāwhio, kia kaua e māori ai te reo Māori i roto i ngā pūnaha kōti.

Kua tika tonu te whakanui i a Pokere v Bodger, heoi, ko tā te kēhi whakaatu ai ko ngā ngoikoretanga, ko ngā tepenga o te pūnaha o naianei. E whakamana ana te Ture i te tino taonga o te reo Māori[8] me tōna tūranga hei reo matua o Aotearoa,[9] e tūtohu hoki ana i ngā hara o ngā ture Karauna ki te reo Māori.[10] Ahakoa tēnei, kāore tonu te reo Māori e taurite ana ki te reo Pākehā. I te kēhi o Pokere v Bodger, he kura huna te tuku kōrero katoa i te reo Māori me te whakaputa i te whakataunga reorua i runga i ēnei tūāhua: e matatau ana a Judge Warren rāua ko Ms Thomas i te reo Māori; te tuku i a Dr Hond hei pūkanga e Judge Warren; ā kāti hoki, ko te āhuahanga o te kēhi i wateatia ai te reo Māori kia tuku. Mēnā kāore ko ērā tūahua, kāhore pea tērā kēhi kia puta pērā ai.

Ki tōku nei mōhio, ko te whakataunga reorua nahe, hāunga ko Pokere v Bodger, ko Ferris v Proprietors of Nuhiti Q Inc.- Nuhuiti Inc., i arahina e Judge Thomas i te Ture Whenua Māori.[11] Ko te tuku o te reo Māori me te wātea o tōna tuku ki ngā kōti e tino hāngai ana ki ngā hunga e whai wāhi ana ki te kaupapa me ō rātou āheinga ki te reo Māori. Ahakoa ngā panonitanga, pērā i ngā pānui me ngā whakatakinga i te reo Māori, he iti kē ngā taunakitanga e hua ai he whakahounga pūnaha kia ū pai te reo, kia ū mahuki te reo i ngā whakahaerenga kōti.

Ehara i te mea ko ngā panonitanga ki ngā ture, ki ngā whakaritenga kōti rānei ka whakawhanake te reo Māori i ngā kōti. He hoa haere te haerenga o te reo Māori ki rō kōti ki te  reo Māori o te ao hurihuri, me te mea hoki ko te reo Māori tonu e whai ana i te whakarauoratanga. Kua āhua iti te puna reo i te ao ture, kua iti iho te hunga e matatau, e māia ana ki te tuku i te reo Māori i ngā aupiki, i ngā auheke o te ao ture.

Ahakoa tēnā, he nui tonu ngā hua e whanga mai ana. I te tau 2018, i waitohutia e Kāhui Legal, he kamupene ture nō Te Whanganui-a-Tara, tētahi momo mahere reo – rātou ko te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. I reira rātou i whakapūmau i te manako kia taea ngā kaimahi katoa o Kāhui Legal kia kōrero i te reo Māori ki a rātou apataki.[12] He nui hoki ngā kaiwhakawā kua takahia te ara ako, te ara kōrero i te reo Māori ki roto i ngā kōti.[13] Hei tā ngā tauira ture, e tupu ana te hunga e matatau ana ki te reo Māori e whai wāhi ana ki ngā wāhanga ā-tuhi, ā-waha hoki ki ngā whakataetae ‘moot’ ā-rohe, ā-motu hoki. Ehara i te mea kua mehameha, kua motumotu ēnei whanaketanga – e tupu ngātahi, e tupu haemata, e tupu matomato ana te reo Māori i runga i te mahi tahi o te nuinga, ā, nā te ū o ngā reanga katoa ki te rauoratanga o te reo ki ngā wāhi, ki ngā horopaki katoa.

I a te ao ture e whanake ana i ōna āheinga reo Māori, me mātua whanake hoki ngā ture kia whakaatu, kia whakamana i ēnei whanaketanga. Kia kaua hoki te reo Māori e noho hei kawenga hōhā ki ngā kōti, kia kaua hoki ngā hunga whai wāhi ki te kōti e parahaua tā rātou pīrangi ki te kōrero i te reo Māori. He nui kē ngā panonitanga mēnā ka tū ngā kōti o Aotearoa hei wāhi e māori ai te reo Māori, e noho taonga ai te reo Māori. Nei rā ētahi panonitanga:

  1. kia tango, kia whakangāwari rānei ngā ārai o te kōti pērā i ngā pānui whakamōhio me ngā whiunga utu e āta horokukū ai te hia kōrero i te reo Māori;
  2. kia māori, kia kaha ake te tuku whakataunga reorua, inā hoki ki te Kōti Ture Whenua me Te Rōpu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi, otirā ngā kōti katoa; Waihoki
  3. te whakanui, te whakamana i ngā kaimahi ture kia ako i te reo Māori kia mārama, kia matatau ngā hunga katoa e whai wāhi ana ki te kōti.

Ko te mōtika kia kōrero i te reo Māori i ngā kōti te tūāpapa o te timatanga. Kua whakamana tēnei mōtika e te Ture, heoi, ko ngā pūnaha ture me ngā whakahaerenga e whakauauatia ai te whakamahi i te reo Māori. He mea nui te kaha me te māori o te kōrero Māori i ngā kōti, inā hoki i a te pūnaha kōti e whanake ana i te turanga o te tikanga Māori i ngā pūnaha ture o Aotearoa. He hoa haere te reo Māori me te tikanga Māori, nā, me whakaōrite te ū me te aro ki te reo me te tikanga mēnā e hia ana ngā kōti ki te whai wāhi tika ai ki te tikanga.

Ā kāti, ko te tumanako ia kia kaua te reo e kōrero nahe ai ki ngā kōti, engari kia mātua pōhiritia, tiakina, kauanuanutia anō hoki. Me reorua ngā pūnaha ture kia whakamana i ngā haepapa ture kāwanatanga hei tā Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Me reorua te pūnaha ture hoki mō te tika o te whakatinanatanga o ngā pūnaha ture i ngā ahurei, i ngā tūākiri tāngata o ōna iwi.

Tukuna te reo kia rere!

Let the language flow!

Nā Aria Ngarimu (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Rongomaiwāhine, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

Nā Taipari Taua i whakamāori (Muriwhenua, Ngāpuhi)

The use of te reo Māori in the courtroom

Since the inception of the Supreme Court of New Zealand (now the High Court) in December 1841,[1] te reo Māori has been spoken in the courtroom for various reasons. However, it was not until 2022 that the Māori Land Court released Aotearoa New New Zealand’s first fully bilingual court judgment.[2]

This momentous event in te reo Māori history is attributable to those involved in the proceedings, notably Judge Aidan Warren, now Judge Alana Thomas, who represented the applicants, and Dr Ruakere Hond. When Ms Thomas notified the Māori Land Court that the applicant’s case would be presented in te reo Māori, Judge Warren appointed Dr Hond as a pūkenga to assist the Court on matters relating to te reo Māori and tikanga Māori under s 32A of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. The final judgment by Judge Warren features bilingual columns of te reo Māori and English text presented side by side.

Subsection 7(1) of Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 / Māori Language Act 2016 (the Act) guarantees the right to speak te reo Māori in legal proceedings. However, there are several limitations on exercising this right. For example:

  1. there is no right to be directly addressed or spoken to in te reo Māori, although the Court may provide an interpreter if necessary;[3]
  2. in both the District Court and senior courts (with some nuances), any person intending to speak te reo Māori in proceedings must give at least 10 working days’ notice before the relevant hearing or conference;[4]
  3. failure to provide adequate notice of intention to speak te reo Māori in court can affect any awards of costs;[5] and
  4. parties may also be entitled to receive documents translated into te reo Māori, but only in certain conditions, including if the Registrar determines that they cannot understand the document unless it is written in te reo Māori.[6]

These provisions might appear administratively practical, but they undoubtedly restrict the ability of court participants to speak te reo Māori freely. The 10-day notice period creates an additional barrier for te reo Māori speakers, and the requirement to prove a lack of English comprehension to receive translations implies that providing documents in te reo Māori is something to avoid unless strictly necessary.

In practice, te reo Māori is spoken in many of New Zealand’s courts, particularly the Māori Land Court and Rangatahi Court, but often only because participants are willing and able to navigate these administrative hurdles.[7] These requirements reflect the broader status of te reo Māori within the judiciary and across Aotearoa generally, and they can make the use of te reo Māori feel less accessible – something to be worked around, rather than a normal and supported part of our judicial processes.

It is right to celebrate Pokere v Bodger, but the case also demonstrates the limitations of the current framework. While the Act recognises te reo Māori as taonga,[8] affirms it as an official language of New Zealand,[9] and acknowledges the negative impacts of Crown policy and practice on te reo Māori,[10] in practice, the language is still not treated equally. In Pokere v Bodger, the presentation of submissions entirely in te reo Māori and the production of a bilingual judgment was only possible because of a unique set of circumstances: Judge Warren and Ms Thomas were both proficient in te reo Māori; the discretional appointment of Dr Hond as a pūkenga by Judge Warren; and the nature of the case which made it appropriate for parts of the proceedings to be conducted in te reo Māori. If any of these factors were not present, it is unlikely that the case would have progressed in the same way.

As far as I am aware, the only other bilingual judgment released since the Pokere v Bodger case is Ferris v Proprietors of Nuhiti Q Inc.- Nuhuiti Inc., presided over by now Judge Thomas in the Māori Land Court.[11] The capacity of the courts to meaningfully engage with te reo Māori is still very much dependent on the individuals involved and their language capabilities. Although there have been some changes, such as court announcements and introductions in te reo Māori, there is little evidence of systemic reform aimed at embedding te reo Māori more comprehensively into courtroom processes.

Of course, any changes to the legislative or procedural framework will not immediately improve the prevalence of te reo Māori in the courtroom. The current state of te reo Māori in the judiciary is tied to wider socio-political factors, including the fact that te reo Māori remains a language in the process of revitalisation. There are relatively few fluent te reo Māori speakers in the legal profession, and even fewer who are confident using the language in legally technical and adversarial environments.

That said, positive developments are underway. In 2018, the Wellington-based law firm Kāhui Legal signed a ‘Reo Plan’ with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – The Māori Language Commission, where they set a goal for all staff members to be able to speak te reo Māori to their clients.[12] Within the judiciary, numerous judges have committed to learning and speaking te reo Māori in court.[13] From a student perspective, the annual Regional and National Kaupapa Māori Mooting Competitions are attracting a growing number of proficient te reo Māori speakers who deliver their written and oral submissions in te reo Māori. These changes are not happening in isolation, but are part of a collective and intergenerational commitment to revitalising te reo Māori in all spaces.

As the legal profession continues to expand its capabilities in te reo Māori, it is essential that the relevant rules and legislation are updated to reflect this. Speaking te reo Māori should not be an administrative burden, nor should litigants be required to justify their preference to communicate in the language. If the New Zealand courtrooms are ever to become a place where te reo Māori is genuinely honoured as a taonga and as one of New Zealand’s official languages, as the Act states, change is needed in multiple spaces. These advancements could include:

  1. removing or softening administrative barriers such as notice periods or cost penalties, which deter te reo Māori use;
  2. normalising bilingual procedure and judgments, particularly in the Māori Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal, but also in the general courts; and
  3. encouraging and empowering legal practitioners to learn te reo Māori so those participating in judicial processes are culturally competent.

The right to speak te reo Māori in the courtroom is a foundational starting point.  This right is protected under the Act, but the surrounding procedural and legislative framework continues to impose barriers that limit its practical use. Normalising the use of te reo Māori in the courtroom is crucial, especially as the judiciary continues to develop the role of tikanga Māori within New Zealand’s legal system. Te reo Māori and tikanga Māori go hand-in-hand; therefore, if the courts are to engage with tikanga Māori meaningfully, there needs to be a parallel commitment to te reo Māori.

Ultimately, the goal should not be simply to allow te reo Māori in the courtroom, but to ensure that it is welcomed, treasured and respected. A bilingual legal system is not only consistent with this country’s constitutional commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but is essential to a fair and inclusive legal system that reflects the identity and aspirations of all its people.

Tukuna te reo kia rere!

Let the language flow!

Nā Aria Ngarimu (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Rongomaiwāhine, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

Ngā kupu āpiti - Notes

[1]  An Ordinance for Establishing a Supreme Court, 22 Dec 1841, repealed in 1860 (5 Vic. No.1).

[2]  Pokere v Bodger – Ōuri 1A3 (2022) 459 Aotea MB 210 (459 AOT 210).

[3]  Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016, s 7(2).

[4]  District Court Rules 2014, r 1.15; High Court Rules 2016, r 1.11; Senior Courts Act 2016, s 147.

[5]  At n 3, Section 7(6).

[6]  District Court Rules 2014, r 1.16(1)(c); High Court Rules 2016, r 1.12(1)(c).

[7] Ngā Kōti o Aotearoa – The Courts of New Zealand “Te Reo Māori in our courts” Ngā Kōti o Aotearoa – The Courts of New Zealand <https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/learn-about-our-courts/te-reo-maori-in-our-courts>.

[8] Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016, s 4.

[9] Section 5.

[10] Section 6.

[11] Ferris v Proprietors of Nuhiti Q Inc.- Nuhuiti Inc. (2023) 122 Tairāwhiti MB 101 (122 TRW 101).

[12] Te Aniwa Hurihanganui “Law firm pledges to speak te reo Māori to clients” Radio New Zealand (online ed, 19 June 2018)

<https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/359933/law-firm-pledges-to-speak-te-reo-maori-to-clients>.

[13] Ngā Kōti o Aotearoa – The Courts of New Zealand “Te Reo Māori in our courts” Ngā Kōti o Aotearoa – The Courts of New Zealand <https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/learn-about-our-courts/te-reo-maori-in-our-courts>.