Waitangi Tribunal

Waitangi Tribunal

Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti
Agency overview
Formed	1975
Headquarters	Wellington, New Zealand
Employees	60 (excluding members)
Parent department	Special Jurisdictions
Parent agency	Ministry of Justice
Key document	Treaty of Waitangi
Website	Tribunal website

The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi.^[1] The Tribunal is not a court of law;^[2] therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.

The inquiry process contributes to the resolution of Treaty claims and to the reconciliation of outstanding issues between Māori and Pākehā. In 2014, the Tribunal found that Ngāpuhi rangatira did not give up their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.