Recognizing Collective Cultural Property Rights in a Deceased-Clarke v. Takamore

The recent New Zealand Supreme Court decision in Clarke v Takamore raises issues about how Maori society views deceased tribal members as belonging to the extended family and tribal group collective. This conflicts with English common law understandings that a closer, legally protected individual relationship exists with an executor, if the decedent has left a will, or with a spouse, if there is no will. This note examines the conflict and suggests a solution that would be fairer to Maori than that unanimously reached by three of New Zealand's general courts.