New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case)

E261109

New Zealand Court of Appeal decision Treaty of Waitangi case court case landmark case public law case

New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987), known as the Lands case, is a landmark New Zealand Court of Appeal decision that affirmed the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi when transferring state assets, significantly shaping modern Treaty jurisprudence and Māori–Crown relations.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
New Zealand Court of Appeal decision New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (SOE case)	1
New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General	1
New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2368557 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case)
Context triple: [State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, influencedCase, New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case)]

A. Māori Land Court
The Māori Land Court is a specialist judicial body in New Zealand that deals with the ownership, use, and management of Māori land and related issues.
B. Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993
Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 is a key New Zealand law that governs Māori land, aiming to promote its retention in Māori ownership and strengthen the role of Māori landowners and customary interests in land management.
C. Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry that investigates and makes recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown.
D. Māori–Crown relations
Māori–Crown relations refers to the evolving political, legal, and social relationship between the Indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand and the New Zealand government, grounded in the Treaty of Waitangi and ongoing processes of redress and partnership.
E. Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
Mabo v Queensland (No 2) is a landmark 1992 High Court of Australia decision that recognized native title and overturned the doctrine of terra nullius in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case)
Target entity description: New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987), known as the Lands case, is a landmark New Zealand Court of Appeal decision that affirmed the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi when transferring state assets, significantly shaping modern Treaty jurisprudence and Māori–Crown relations.

A. Māori Land Court
The Māori Land Court is a specialist judicial body in New Zealand that deals with the ownership, use, and management of Māori land and related issues.
B. Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993
Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 is a key New Zealand law that governs Māori land, aiming to promote its retention in Māori ownership and strengthen the role of Māori landowners and customary interests in land management.
C. Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry that investigates and makes recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown.
D. Māori–Crown relations
Māori–Crown relations refers to the evolving political, legal, and social relationship between the Indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand and the New Zealand government, grounded in the Treaty of Waitangi and ongoing processes of redress and partnership.
E. Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
Mabo v Queensland (No 2) is a landmark 1992 High Court of Australia decision that recognized native title and overturned the doctrine of terra nullius in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	New Zealand Court of Appeal decision ⓘ Treaty of Waitangi case ⓘ court case ⓘ landmark case ⓘ public law case ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	the Lands case ⓘ
areaOfLaw	Treaty of Waitangi law ⓘ administrative law ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ
characterisedAs	foundational case for Treaty principles ⓘ landmark in New Zealand constitutional development ⓘ
citation	[1987] 1 NZLR 641 ⓘ
clarified	that partnership is a key principle of the Treaty of Waitangi ⓘ that the Crown has a duty of active protection towards Māori interests ⓘ that the Crown must act reasonably and in good faith towards Māori ⓘ that the Treaty of Waitangi has ongoing relevance in contemporary government decision-making ⓘ
concerns	Crown obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi ⓘ protection of Māori interests in land and resources ⓘ transfer of Crown land to state-owned enterprises ⓘ
country	New Zealand ⓘ
court	New Zealand Court of Appeal ⓘ linked to: Court of Appeal of New Zealand
decisionYear	1987 ⓘ
established	modern doctrine of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi ⓘ
held	section 9 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 has substantive legal effect ⓘ the Crown could not transfer assets to state-owned enterprises in a way that would impair its ability to remedy Treaty breaches ⓘ the Crown must act in a manner consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi ⓘ
importance	considered one of the most significant Treaty of Waitangi cases ⓘ major influence on New Zealand public law ⓘ
influenced	Māori–Crown relations in New Zealand ⓘ subsequent Treaty of Waitangi jurisprudence ⓘ
interpretsSection	section 9 State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 ⓘ
involves	Attorney-General of New Zealand ⓘ New Zealand Māori Council ⓘ linked to: Māori Council
jurisdiction	New Zealand ⓘ
languageOfProceedings	English ⓘ
legalEffect	constrained privatisation of Crown assets where Treaty claims existed or might arise ⓘ required protective mechanisms for land subject to Waitangi Tribunal claims ⓘ
relatedTo	Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 ⓘ Waitangi Tribunal ⓘ privatisation policies of the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand ⓘ
resultedIn	constraints on transfer of Crown land to state-owned enterprises ⓘ development of mechanisms to protect land subject to potential Treaty claims ⓘ strengthening of the Waitangi Tribunal’s role in relation to land claims ⓘ
statutoryContext	State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 ⓘ
subjectMatter	Treaty of Waitangi principles ⓘ state asset transfers ⓘ
timePeriod	late 20th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 → influencedCase → New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case) ⓘ

Treaty of Waitangi principles → articulatedIn → New Zealand Court of Appeal decision New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (SOE case) ⓘ

linked to: New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (1987) (the Lands case)

Lands case → hasAlternativeName → New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General ⓘ

subject linked to: the Lands case