Thursday, 12 March 2026
The Convergence of Tikanga and Property Law
Our courts are increasingly treating tikanga not as background custom but as applicable law operating alongside orthodox property rights. The trajectory is clear. From the Supreme Court's recognition in Attorney-General v Ngāti Apa Ngāti Apa to Trans-Tasman Resources, Nikora v Kruger, and the Law Commission's He Poutama, a clear jurisprudence is emerging, one where tikanga-defined obligations of stewardship, collective interest, and ancestral relationship actively shape, qualify, and sometimes displace general property law principles. We take a deep-dive into the convergence of Tikanga-defined obligations of stewardship, collective interest, and whakapapa-based relationships with whenua are now live considerations in property law disputes.
Presented by Annette Sykes, Director, Sykes & Co Law
Description
Attend and earn 0.5 CPD hour
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the evolving recognition and application of tikanga Māori within New Zealand property law, including key judicial and law reform developments
- Analyse how tikanga-based concepts of stewardship, collective interest and whakapapa relationships with whenua can shape or qualify conventional property rights and principles
Presenters
Annette Sykes, Director, Annette Sykes Co LawAnnette Te Imaima Sykes is a prominent Māori lawyer and human rights activist of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Makino descent. She is a Principal of her own law firm Annette Sykes & Co based in Rotorua which has a strong focus on all aspects of law as they affect Māori. Annette has practised extensively in the Family and Criminal jurisdictional Courts, Civil litigation and pursuing claims before the Waitangi Tribunal in both District Inquiries, Priority, Urgent and Kaupapa Inquiries. She has been instrumental in cases involving Māori land rights since the Wai 11 Māori Language claim in 1985. She has attended numerous International seminars over the last 30 years promoting the rights of indigenous peoples. As a member of the Māori Law Commission, she works to integrate traditional Māori legal systems into Aotearoa's constitution, emphasising He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi ,also carrying on the decolonisation work of the late Dr Moana Jackson.
