Study co-author and University of Otago Faculty of Law professor Jacinta Ruru said the survey, conducted as part of a multiphase research project, was open to a range of participants including practising lawyers, government agencies, law academics, students and iwi.
"Most of the 201 respondents thought that having more knowledge about te reo Maori (94%), Maori law (89%) and tikanga Maori (94%) would be helpful for their work," Prof Ruru said.
"We are really excited to be thinking about these results as we start the new year of teaching the LLB law degree."
The national project, Inspiring National Indigenous Legal Education for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Bachelor of Laws Degree, was led by 18 Maori legal researchers associated with Nga Pae o Te Maramatanga — New Zealand’s Maori Centre of Research Excellence.
"Back in 2020, we made a call for law schools to move towards becoming bijural, bicultural and bilingual.
"For the second phase of our project, we wanted to test our ideas and hear from others to determine if there was general support or not, and find out what others see as the opportunities and risks with such a big move," she said.
"We expected some concerns to be voiced both by the general legal profession, who may not see Maori law as relevant to their practice, and by hapu about maintaining the integrity of tikanga Maori if Maori law was to be comprehensively taught in universities.
"While there were some concerns, particularly around burdening Maori legal academics, we also found some encouraging responses."
Prof Ruru said many acknowledged teaching te reo, tikanga and Maori law would better equip law students to practise law in New Zealand and make the legal system more responsive and just.
The next part of the research detailing findings from longer interviews with a range of experts was expected to be released later this year.
The group also hoped to pursue a third phase, to model how New Zealand could transition to teaching a bicultural, bilingual and bijural law degree, she said.
"This project has the potential to transform legal education and the legal profession in Aotearoa New Zealand, and in turn influence how law impacts the lives of New Zealanders."
