New Zealand’s Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has issued a warning. He’s warned that the current Government will legislate “over the top” of Court decisions involving concepts such as tikanga and Treaty of Waitangi obligations, where required for legal clarity.
“Judicial activism” is the term often used to describe what Minister Goldsmith is concerned about - judges ignoring the literal meaning of legislative wording and Parliament’s intentions, and violating established common law principles in favour of…well…making Māori things up, to suit their ideological biases. “Judicial invention” might just be a better term.
