Search

Recent years have seen a string of cases in which tikanga Māori has been considered or recognised as part of the common law of New Zealand. The courts have asserted -- and the Crown has accepted -- that it is uncontroversial that tikanga is part of the common law. Yet, a close examination of the historical cases which have been held out as precedent for judicial recognition of Māori custom reveals a complex picture. This article explores how at present tikanga jurisprudence is progressing upon the basis of old English law and historical New Zealand cases which do not withstand scrutiny and are inadequate foundations for the recognition of tikanga in the present. This does not mean that the courts should not seek to legally recognise tikanga. On the contrary, current legal challenges before the courts demand the development of a coherent tikanga jurisprudence informed by the circumstances of 21st century New Zealand. It is argued that alternative legal and conceptual pillars need to be constructed on which we can build sound foundations for the recognition of tikanga, rather than continuing to rely on outdated historical case law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article notes various responses to the question of when (if at all) courts should provide legal remedies to parties not satisfied with outcomes reached by other branches of government in highly contested political matters. The author's focus is on Treaty of Waitangi redress settlements concluded by political negotiations between iwi and the Crown. The executive branch of government relies on Crown prerogative powers to pursue these settlements. Negotiated Deeds of Settlement are then implemented by legislative enactments in parliamentary proceedings that are not subject to ordinary processes for amendment. The courts have long shielded negotiated Deeds of Settlement from judicial scrutiny, concluding that they involve decisions that ought not be justiciable in the ordinary courts. This article discusses "hard" instances of legal constitutionalism in South Africa and possible over-reach by courts there. It then discusses recent cases on Treaty of Waitangi-related matters in Aotearoa New Zealand. These cases indicate a sea change away from political constitutionalism, and from deference by courts to executive branch decision-making, towards a "soft" version of legal constitutionalism. Incremental common law decision-making is elevating tikanga Māori from a seldom noted instance of customary practices to an integral source of the common law of Aotearoa New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) has been associated in some studies with Clostridioides perfringens overgrowth and toxin-mediated necrosis of the intestinal mucosa. We aimed to determine the effect of a single fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on clinical scores and fecal microbiomes of 1 and 7 dogs with AHDS from New Zealand and South Africa. We hypothesized that FMT would improve AHDS clinical scores and increase microbiota alpha-diversity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbial communities' abundances in dogs with AHDS after FMT. We sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S-rRNA gene in the feces of AHDS FMT-recipients and sham-treated control dogs, and their healthy donors at admission, discharge, and 30 days post-discharge. There were no significant differences in median AHDS clinical scores between FMT-recipients and sham-treated controls at admission or discharge (P = 0.22, P = 0.41). At admission, the Shannon diversity index (SDI) was lower in AHDS dogs than healthy donors (P = 0.002). The SDI did not change from admission to 30 days in sham-treated dogs yet increased in FMT-recipients from admission to discharge (P = 0.04) to levels not different than donors (P = 0.33) but significantly higher than sham-treated controls (P = 0.002). At 30 days, the SDI did not differ between FMT recipients, sham-treated controls, and donors (P = 0.88). Principal coordinate analysis of the Bray-Curtis index separated post-FMT and donor dogs from pre-FMT and sham-treated dogs (P = 0.009) because of increased SCFA-producing genera's abundances after FMT. A single co-abundance subnetwork contained many of the same OTUs found to be differentially abundant in FMT-recipients, and the abundance of this module was increased in FMT-recipients at discharge and 30 days, compared to sham-treated controls. We conclude in this small pilot study FMT did not have any clinical benefit. A single FMT procedure has the potential to increase bacterial communities of SCFA-producing genera important for intestinal health up to 30 days post-FMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for the peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand to come together in unity -- tuī,tuī, tuituia -- have featured frequently in oratory and writings over the 250 years since the bark HMS Endeavour reached these shores in October 1769. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage has included as a theme for Tuia -- Encounters 250 events in 2019 'Dual Heritage, Shared Future -- presenting a balanced and honest history to better understand each other, and build a strong foundation for a shared future.' This paper focuses on the very high rate of prison incarceration in this country and the large number of Māori who are incarcerated. Current criminal justice policies undermine hopes for a positive dual heritage in a shared future. The significance of integration policies fostered by the Hunn Report 1960 is a particular focus. The article draws on an historical report of mine published in 2001 by the Waitangi Tribunal during the Wai 262 inquiry that led to the report Ko Aotearoa Tēnei [Waitangi Tribunal. 2011. Ko Aotearoa Tēnei: A report into claims concerning New Zealand law and policy affecting Māori culture and identity. Te Taumata Tuarua, Wellington: Legislation Direct] and then comments on recent criminal justice data and governmental policies. It is concluded that whole-of-government policies to address underlying issues of inequality, scarcity and deprivation existing in our midst are more important than tinkering with prison policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay on the contributions of historians and lawyers in New Zealand's legal proceedings, especially in the Treaty of Waitangi, is presented. It also talks about the aspect of time, law and history in the common law, and the interpretation and use of the past to prove the present. Topics discussed are role of New Zealand's history from 1840 to 1975, Crown-Māori relationships, and settler-indigenous relationships in Australia and New Zealand.

The article focuses on the history of the Queen's Counsel (QC) in New Zealand and the attorneys appointed as QC in 2013. Topics include the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers (Amendment) Act of 2012, the appointment of QC attorneys in New Zealand since 1907, and how QC members deal with conflicts of interest.

This paper looks at some English legal history as a means of trying to understand how the Treaty of Waitangi may be important to future reforms of New Zealand's constitutional structures. My starting point is the metaphor of the 'bridle' used by the thirteenth century English writer, Bracton, to describe the importance of restraining the arbitrary power of the King by principles of legality and due process. I note the importance of that thinking in the development of a system of constitutional monarchy in place of royal absolutism during the tumultuous years of the seventeenth century in England. Turning to Aotearoa New Zealand I describe the near invisibility of the Treaty of Waitangi in the key documents of the constitutional canon. I also point out that the rhetoric of the Treaty as a foundational compact for the nation is of no weight at all if parliamentary supremacy is invoked to displace Treaty rights. The blatant disregard of due process and putative Māori customary property rights in the foreshore and seabed controversies of 2003-2004 highlight the need, as I perceive it, for finding ways and means to place a constitutional 'bridle' on the arbitrary power of parliamentary supremacy. This contribution to the Review's theme of governance in Aotearoa New Zealand suggests that the Treaty of Waitangi will one day become such a 'bridle'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the political relevance of the social praxis `Te Kooti tango whenua: The Native Land Court 1864-1909,' on the Maori people of New Zealand. Colonial legalities on property ownership and social rights; Alienation of tribe lands by European settlers; Impact of the journal `Social Justice' on radical social changes on crime, conflict, and world order.

Machine learning algorithms are used successfully in this paper to forecast reliably upcoming short-term high concentration episodes, or peaks (<60-min) of fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5) 1 h in advance. Results are from a network around Christchurch, New Zealand, with an objective to forecast the occurrence of short-term peaks using a gradient boosted machine with a binary classifier as the response (1 = peak, 0 = no peak). Results are successful, with 80–90% accurate forecasting of whether a peak in PM 2.5 would occur within the next 60-min period. Elevated and variable nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lower temperatures and wind gusts are found to be important precursors to the occurrence of PM 2.5 peaks. The use of meteorological data from a network of personal weather stations across the monitored area and from the measurement instruments was able to identify local-scale peak differences in the network. Boosted models using hourly-averaged and daily-averaged peaks as the response are developed separately to showcase differences in precursors between short-term and long-term peaks, with recent wind gusts and nitrogen oxides linked to hourly-averaged peaks and aloft air temperatures and atmospheric pressure linked to daily-averaged peaks. Results could prove useful in exposure mitigation strategies (e.g. as a short-term warning system). • High short-term (<60 min) PM2.5 concentrations were forecast, 1 h in advance. • Significant precursors were nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, temperature and wind. • Personal weather stations helped identify local-scale processes affecting PM2.5 • Short-term results were different to daily-averaged forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A novel zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent system (ZoMaxx, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois) was compared with a paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent (Taxus Express2) in a randomized trial of percutaneous intervention for de novo coronary artery stenosis. The primary end point was defined as noninferiority of in-segment late lumen loss after 9 months., Background: The ZoMaxx stent system elutes 10 microg/mm zotarolimus using a phosphorylcholine polymer loaded onto a novel stainless steel stent platform containing a 0.0007-inch inner layer of tantalum., Methods: Twenty-nine investigative sites in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand enrolled 401 patients, 396 of whom received a study stent., Results: After 9 months, late lumen loss was significantly greater in the ZoMaxx group (in-stent 0.67 +/- 0.57 mm vs. 0.45 +/- 0.48 mm; p < 0.001; in-segment 0.43 +/- 0.60 mm vs. 0.25 +/- 0. 45 mm; p = 0.003), resulting in significantly higher rates of >50% angiographic restenosis (in-stent 12.9% vs. 5.7%; p = 0.03; in-segment 16.5% vs. 6.9%; p = 0.007). The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval on the difference in in-segment late lumen loss between the 2 treatment groups (0.27 mm) exceeded the 0.25 mm value pre-specified for noninferiority. There were no significant differences between ZoMaxx and Taxus-treated groups with respect to target lesion revascularization (8.0% vs. 4.1%; p = 0.14), major adverse cardiac events (12.6% vs. 9.6%; p = 0.43), or stent thrombosis (0.5% in both groups)., Conclusions: After 9 months, the ZoMaxx stent showed less neointimal inhibition than the Taxus stent, as shown by higher in-stent late loss and restenosis by qualitative coronary angiography.