Going to hearings

Hearings are held so the Tribunal can hear evidence from claimants and from other parties, including the Crown. Anyone participating in a hearing may ask questions on evidence being presented. The parties will make submissions on the questions raised in the inquiry.

Tribunal hearings can differ in the types of evidence that are presented. One of these is Ngā Korero Tuku Iho hearings, at which claimants present oral and traditional evidence in person. This kind of hearing focuses on tribal history. They are claimant-led and enable the Tribunal to hear traditional kōrero in an appropriate cultural context. Other types of hearing can include the hearing of technical evidence – usually research undertaken by professional researchers such as historians and other subject-matter experts, and hearings where witnesses for claimant groups, such as kaumatua, can present their evidence directly to the Tribunal. Oral hearings focusing on claimants’ lived experience are another type of hearing held for Tribunal kaupapa inquiries. Usually hearings contain a mix of different types of evidence.

For the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa inquiry a series of six contextual tūāpapa hearings were held to gather evidence from wāhine around the country. 

Find out more about Kete Pūputu: The Online Guide to the Mana Wāhine Tūāpapa Evidence

Hearings are normally open to the public and can be held in a variety of locations all over New Zealand. They are most often held at Marae but can be held in community venues such as town-halls, conference centres, hotels, or the Tribunal’s offices in central Wellington.

More information

In general, the Tribunal groups claims into inquiries according to the common issues that exist between them. Examples are claims that fall within a particular district inquiry or kaupapa claims that concern nationally significant issues affecting Māori as a whole.

Research - the casebook method

Tribunal inquiries generally follow the casebook method. This involves planning, as far as is possible, the research that will be required in the inquiry and completing that research before hearings start. The completed research, together with other documentary evidence, is collectively known as a 'casebook'. The research reports and other casebook evidence are entered on the record of inquiry and distributed to the Crown and all claimants participating in the inquiry.

Find out more about the research process

As the research for an inquiry district is finalised, Tribunal staff will liaise with claimants and their representatives about how the hearings will be run.

To prepare for a hearing, the matters to be worked through include the order in which claimant groups are to be heard, where hearings are to be held, and the arrangements to be made for each hearing venue. The presiding officer of an inquiry (often a Judge of the Māori Land Court) is also likely to hold conferences of parties (called judicial conferences) to settle some of these planning matters, in particular before hearings begin.

How a claim may participate in an inquiry – aggregation and consolidation

Depending on a claim’s issues it may be aggregated or consolidated into an inquiry. If it is consolidated all of the claim is heard in the inquiry. If it is aggregated, only part of the claim is heard in the inquiry. An aggregated claim may participate in a number of inquiries.

 

Hearing venues

The Tribunal tries to hear claimant groups at the venue of their choice and according to their protocols, where that is desired.

Usually, claimant groups are heard on their marae. When the Tribunal hears the Crown and others who are entitled to be heard, it often moves to a neutral venue (such as a public hall, conference centre, or the Tribunal’s offices).

In all cases, however, the Tribunal must be satisfied that a proposed venue is suitable for its needs and that it meets certain health and safety requirements. Accordingly, the Tribunal makes the ultimate decision as to where it sits.

What happens at the hearing

There is normally more than one hearing week held for an inquiry. The general order of proceedings over the course of hearings for an inquiry is:

1.     the claimants and Crown present their opening submissions to outline their arguments with regard to whether or not the Crown has breached the Treaty

2.     the claimants and the Crown present their evidence (this is sometimes arranged with all claimant evidence heard then all Crown-evidence, but all evidence on a particular topic may also be heard together). Evidence commissioned directly by the Tribunal will also be heard

3.     others with an interest in the inquiry present their evidence and submissions

4.     all parties present their closing submissions to lay out their overall arguments and show how the evidence that has been presented supports their respective cases.

Types of evidence heard

Typically, claimant evidence is a mix of oral evidence from kaumātua, rangatahi and other claimant witnesses, and written evidence comprising witness statements, traditional history, research reports, documents and audio-visual material. Evidence is, with some exceptions, usually submitted to the Tribunal in advance of the hearing.

At hearings, witnesses usually present summaries of their reports before the Tribunal. Evidence may be presented in te reo Māori or English and all witnesses may be questioned by the Tribunal and by counsel for other parties. Sometimes, in the course of a hearing, the Tribunal will visit sites of importance to the claimants (such as pā sites and wāhi tapu) so as to gain a fuller appreciation of the claim issues.

Length of hearings   

The length of an inquiry depends on a number of factors. In a large complex inquiry, there are likely to be several weeks of hearings. The overall hearing timeframe arises from the amount of work needed to prepare for each hearing, and because most panel members do not work full-time for the Tribunal. In a smaller inquiry, no more than two or three hearings may take place over a much shorter period of time. Occasionally, where a single claim is being heard and the issues are limited, there may be no need for more than one sitting, and that may be completed in a day or a few days.

Staged hearings

Sometimes, the Tribunal hears and reports on claims in an inquiry in stages. For example, stage one of the Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry (Wai 2575) focused on claims about the legislative and policy framework of the primary healthcare system. Following the hearings, the Tribunal released its report Hauora – the Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (the Hauora Report) on 1 July 2019.

Stage two of the inquiry focuses on claims relating to Māori with disabilities, mental health (including suicide and self-harm), and issues of alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse.

After the hearing

The Tribunal releases its report

After hearings are complete, the Tribunal panel writes a report that details its findings. The amount of time this takes varies and depends on a number of factors, including the size of an inquiry. This can take from a few days or weeks for urgent inquiries, up to several years for large and complex inquiries. The Tribunal has released numerous and varied reports over the years, which are available to download or to purchase.

Find the list of Tribunal reports

Search Tribunal reports online

Report handover ceremony

The Tribunal will occasionally hold a report handover ceremony for the claimants and other parties that have participated in an inquiry.

Remedies inquiries

Occasionally claimants with well-founded claims apply to the Tribunal for a remedies inquiry.

Find out more about remedies inquiries

Settlement

Tribunal reports can assist the parties in their settlement negotiations.  Settlement negotiations are facilitated by Te Arawhiti: the Office for Māori Crown Relations.

Find out about the settlement process on the Te Arawhiti website

In certain circumstances, the Tribunal may decide to urgently inquire into a claim. In considering an application for urgency, the Tribunal will look at a number of factors. In order to be granted an urgent hearing, claimants must establish that their claim addresses an imminent Crown action or omission, that that action will cause significant and irreversible prejudice, that there is no alternative path to resolving the issue available, and that they are already ready to proceed to hearing.

Typically an urgent hearing will consist of an expedited process of hearing and reporting.

Find out more about urgency applications

Once a claim has been inquired into and reported on by the Tribunal, it is possible for claimants to apply for a remedies hearing. This is a special kind of hearing where the Tribunal looks exclusively at remedies available to the claimants.

Find out more about remedies applications

Information on our current hearings