Maori Sovereignty

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=1844359&thesection=news&thesubsection=dialogue

Can't beleive this got missed by the biggie crew, What does everyone think?

It's the usual, oft-repeated sensationalism, innit.

Donna Hall thinks it's a good idea because she's likely to making a friggin' fortune in the courts from it. Doesn't take a genius to work that out

His view of maori ceding sovereignty is not the accepted view at all. Se the folowing link http://aotearoa.wellington.net.nz/back/project.htm#WHICH%20TREATY%20IS%20THE%20RIGHT and many others for the more generally accepted view.

Yea but his point is thats not the internationally legal correct view.

and my point is that his view is not the internationally correct one. Have you actually looked at the link I provided. The law of contra preferentum is an international one, so I don't know who Bill English gets his viewpoint from.

He quoted the UN as the source. We don't want to go against the UN like those dirty Americans do we?

From my reading of the source he mentioned, the part he quoted is only relevant if 2 other articles don't apply. In one of those 2 there is this clause "any relevant rules of international law applicable in the relations between the parties". Doesn't that mean that the law of contra preferentum applies. Almost all comentators with knowledge of the treaty (much more than english) state that it does apply.

"In International law, in any ambiguity the contra perferentum principle applies. This means that a provision should be interpreted against the party who drafts it and that the indigenous language texts takes precedence." - this is from a sociology paper - nz society
Another interesting point is that out of the 512 signatures ... only 30 are on the English version.

I thought 2050 was really interesting... yes .. some of the scenarios portrayed were 'extreme', but some were a bit like the 'boot being on the other foot', bound to make some people feel uncomfortable.
I think it achieved exactly what it was meant to .... the big ... what if?

he maoris could always have had the french instead. That was part of the motivation behind asking england to protect them.

You could say they started the process.

I like the french culture too, ummm Nah the French had little to do with it . sounds like it but No! another mislead peice of information