Welcome to the page for the Crown response to Te Rau o te Tika: the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry. Here you’ll find useful information and updates on the Inquiry. The Ministry of Justice is the lead agency for the Crown’s participation in this Inquiry, bringing together more than 10 government agencies to respond to the issues being examined by the Waitangi Tribunal.
The Waitangi Tribunal has launched an inquiry into issues affecting Māori in the justice system. This is one in a series of kaupapa inquiries dealing with nationally significant issues affecting Māori. The Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 3060) began in August 2021 and has been named Te Rau o te Tika by Dr Ruakere Hond. You can read more about the meaning Te Rau o te Tika on the Waitangi Tribunal website.(external link)
The Inquiry will be wide-ranging with a focus on the administration of justice. The Tribunal has structured the Inquiry into three parts:
Whakatika ki Runga – a mini-inquiry that was held in 2022 about the funding of claimant participation in Waitangi Tribunal processes, including legal aid.
Te Tūāpapa o te Tika – a process involving people appointed as Pou Tikanga, or authorities on tikanga, with wānanga held at four marae in May and June 2023. The Tribunal’s intention is that insights gained from this stage about the tikanga of justice that are needed to guide the Inquiry process, will be applied in later stages of the Inquiry.
Te Tāhū o te Tika – this stage will cover the balance of the Inquiry. The Tribunal proposes to look initially at criminal justice, turning first to police, then criminal courts, followed by prisons, including remand and non-custodial sentences. After examining criminal justice, the Tribunal will then turn to civil justice, including civil litigation and civil legal aid, followed by the Family Court, Environment Court and Māori Land Court.
The chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal, Chief Māori Land Court Judge Wilson Isaac, has appointed Judge Carrie Wainwright as the Inquiry’s Presiding Officer and has appointed Dr Ruakere Hond, Dr Paul Hamer and Dr Hana O’Regan to the panel to hear the claims. The Waitangi Tribunal is independent of the Ministry of Justice.
Claims to the Waitangi Tribunal are allegations that the Crown has breached the principals of Treaty of Waitangi through particular actions, inactions, laws or policies, and that Māori have suffered prejudice (harmful effects) as a result.
Any Māori person may submit a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal. If the claim meets the Tribunal’s requirements it can be registered and be heard as part of an inquiry. There is more information about making a claim on the Tribunal’s website.(external link)
The Tribunal has set out some eligibility criteria for claims to be included in the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry. You can read more about the eligibility criteria(external link) (page 4).
The list of claims to be included within the Inquiry is not yet finalised. However, you can look at the claims that could be included by using the Waitangi Tribunal's website search function(external link) – filter by inquiry, then select Te Rau o te Tika.
The Inquiry will involve more than 10 government agencies. The Crown’s response is led by the Minister of Justice, and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Justice. The Crown’s response will include:
Other agencies and Ministers may also have a direct interest in the Inquiry, and some may play a more active role at different stages of the Inquiry.
The inquiry is now in the substantive stage. This stage is called Te Tahu o Te Tika.
The current stage of the inquiry concerns the criminal justice system. Throughout 2025, the Tribunal has heard from Māori about their experiences of the criminal justice system in a less formal setting than a typical court hearing. These sessions were given the name ‘He Rau Kōrero Tara ā-Whare’. Four hearings were held throughout May and June 2025 in Hamilton, Kerikeri, Auckland and Wellington.
Here is information about the purpose of the He Rau Kōrero Tara ā-Whare stage:
Wai 3060, #2.6.38(external link)
Here is the guide for kaikōrero for the He Rau Kōrero Tara ā-Whare sessions:
Wai 3060, #2.6.38(a)(external link)
The first stage of the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry examined the Crown’s funding for claimants’ participation in Tribunal inquiries, including Legal Aid. This mini-inquiry, known as Whakatika ki Runga, investigated whether the current approach to funding adequately supports claimants’ participation. Hearings were completed in October 2022 and the Waitangi Tribunal produced a report on its findings in February 2023. Here is the Tribunal's report on Whakatika ki Runga.(external link)
The Government has considered this report. Work to determine what next steps are required to design a long-term funding system are currently on hold. In the meantime, the Government mandated an interim claimant funding policy for all Tribunal Kaupapa inquiries in mid 2023. The interim claimant funding policy remains in place and addresses the urgent need to have a consistent Crown approach to funding in place as many kaupapa inquiries are underway. Here is the common funding policy. [PDF, 213 KB] This addresses the urgent need to have a consistent Crown approach to funding in place as many kaupapa inquiries are underway. You can find the details of the government’s decisions in this Cabinet paper [PDF, 2.1 MB] and Cabinet minute [PDF, 296 KB].
Four Pou Tikanga – Moe Milne, Ruth Smith, Paraone Gloyne and Rāhui Papa - were appointed to assist the Tribunal in this stage. Four wānanga were held on mārae in Whakatane, Moerewa, Ōtaki and Papakura in May and June 2023. The Pou Tikanga released their report ‘He Huanga o te Tika’ in December of 2024. You can read it here; Huanga o te Tika(external link)
Here is information about the scope of the questions considered in the Tūāpapa stage. [PDF, 461 KB](external link)
Here is the Guide to Kōrero for the Te Tūāpapa o Te Tika stage in Easy Read. [PDF, 2 MB](external link)
If you want to watch recordings of the four Tūāpapa events, they can be accessed using the following You Tube links:
More information about the Waitangi Tribunal’s kaupapa inquiry programme is available on the Waitangi Tribunal’s website.(external link)
Official copies of documents issued by the Waitangi Tribunal, or documents filed by the Crown and interested parties, are available via the Waitangi Tribunal’s website search function(external link) – filter by inquiry, then select Te Rau o te Tika.
Here is information about progress of the Inquiry: Events | Waitangi Tribunal.(external link)
Some claimants in the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry may choose to request their personal information from government agencies so that they can include it in their evidence to the Inquiry. This factsheet provides information about how you can request your personal information from government agencies:
Factsheet for requesting personal information [PDF, 185 KB]
Here is information about support available to help self-represented claimants participating in Te Rau o te Tika: Factsheet for self-represented claimants [PDF, 145 KB]
Named claimants, claimant witnesses, and their support people in the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry can apply for funding towards costs incurred when attending events set down by the Waitangi Tribunal. This funding can also cover the costs of preparatory hui that claimants may want to have prior to a hearing. Claimants wishing to access funding for preparatory hui must contact the Ministry of Justice Claimant Funding Team before making any arrangements or incurring any costs.
Please contact the Claimant funding team to discuss your funding options: