Roger Partridge: Supreme Court matters - trust law or judicial make-believe?

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nikora v Kruger [2024] NZSC 130 has conjured up a revolutionary new principle of property law. According to our highest court, land can be beneficially owned by the dead. This startling proposition emerges from the Court’s efforts to expand the Māori Land Court’s jurisdiction over tribal trusts.

At issue was whether the Māori Land Court could supervise Tūhoe’s Treaty settlement trust. The trust, Tūhoe – Te Uru Taumatua (TUT), was established in 2009 to receive and manage Treaty settlement assets. Like other post-settlement governance entities, it was set up as a fully discretionary trust, giving trustees broad powers to manage assets for tribal development.