‘New Zealand’s constitution doesn’t just fail Māori, it fails us all.’

The idea that New Zealand’s constitution protects the rights of everyone is a fairytale, says legal scholar Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tainui, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi).

The Crown’s claim to sovereignty, Charters argues, met none of the legal tests that applied in 1840 under tikanga Māori, British law or international law. An illegal claim has produced an illegitimate state, and a constitution in which Parliament, the executive and the courts can each override Māori rights. Sovereignty makes the case for constitutional transformation, and sets out what it could look like.