Speaking Across Legal Worlds: Māori Code-Switching and Legal Pluralism as Decolonial Practice in the Trans-Tasman Resources Seabed Mining Case
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis examines how Māori representatives used code-switching between te reo Māori and English during the Supreme Court hearing in Trans-Tasman Resources v Taranaki-Whanganui Conservation Board to challenge dominant legal epistemologies and advance Māori perspectives within legal discourse. Focusing on Māori opposition to a proposed seabed mining project in the South Taranaki Bight, the study explores how language can function as a site of contestation over identity, knowledge, and human–nature relations. Drawing on Cultural Discourse Theory and decolonial approaches of coloniality of knowledge, the thesis applies Cultural Discourse Analysis to the Supreme Court hearing transcripts, examining the cultural dimensions of being, acting, relating, feeling, and dwelling. The analysis demonstrates that code-switching served multiple purposes. Māori representatives used te reo to display collective identity and belonging, articulate an ontology of human-nature relationship grounded in kinship and genealogy, and present concepts such as kaitiakitanga and tikanga as applicable law. Ultimately, restraining from fully translating Māori terms and concepts challenged linguistic hierarchies and enabled Māori frameworks to enter legal discourse without being reduced to Western categories. The findings show that code-switching can operate as a form of linguistic resistance and decolonial practice, contributing to legal pluralism by expanding the concepts and relationships recognized within law. The thesis therefore highlights language as a significant tool through which Indigenous peoples can contest epistemic hierarchies and reshape contemporary legal decision-making.
Author: Rick, Antonia Naomi
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213388892