A New Zealand lawyer is hoping to apply his expertise in Māori land law, the Treaty of Waitangi and constitutional issues to assist in resolving similar challenges faced in the Cook Islands.

Cook Islands has welcomed New Zealand barrister Andrew K Irwin, who has been admitted to the bar as a permanent barrister in the Cook Islands High Court, allowing him to take on more cases and represent clients in court.

Irwin was admitted to the bar on Wednesday last week by Justice Colin Doherty via Zoom, as he is based in New Zealand. This admission allows him to take on more cases and represent clients in court.

In an email correspondence with Cook Islands News, Irwin said that he was thrilled with the opportunity, explaining that this was not the first time he had been admitted, although previously it had been on a temporary basis.

Under Cook Islands law, New Zealand lawyers can be temporarily admitted to practice for individual cases.

“It feels really good to be admitted as a barrister of the Cook Islands. I’ve done this a few times before but it’s great finally to be admitted on a permanent basis.  It means we don’t have to go through a temporary admission process each time, but it also means I can realistically take on more cases in the Cook Islands,” Irwin stated.

“I really (really) enjoy practising law in the Cook Islands. In New Zealand, I specialise in Māori land law, Treaty of Waitangi and constitutional issues. Because Cook Islands land laws are reasonably similar to the laws relating to Māori land law, it means I can transfer my skill set quite nicely.”

Irwin, who is in his 40s, is based in Wellington. He was born and bred in Dunedin in the South Island, attended Otago University in the early 1990s and is still a keen Highlanders fan.  

His family has always had an association with the Māori Synod of the Presbyterian Church, which is now called Te Aka Puahou, and since he was a teenager, he tried his best to learn to speak and write in te reo Māori.

“I’m really interested in the similarities and differences between the languages and culture of New Zealand Māori and Cook Islands Māori,” he added.

Irwin started practicing law with the NZ Crown Law Office in its Treaty and International Law team in the late 1990s and spent years there acting for the Crown in the Waitangi Tribunal and in the Courts.  

In 2014, he left Crown Law and joined the independent bar, which meant he could be instructed by anyone. Since then, the Crown has instructed him on various cases.  

“One notable case was the Waitangi Tribunal’s Northland inquiry (led by Justice Craig Coxhead), into the meaning and effect of the Declaration of Independence of 1835 and the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which has shaped how many people in New Zealand now conceptualise the Treaty of Waitangi,” Irwin explained.

“But I’ve acted for a range of clients, including some in the Māori Land Court, iwi with claims to the foreshore and seabed and I assist the government department that writes New Zealand’s laws with bilingual drafting.

“New Zealand is starting to draft some laws in both te reo Māori and English, and I help to ensure both texts are legally equivalent, which I find fascinating.”

Irwin will remain based in New Zealand and is looking forward to the next opportunity that brings him to the courtroom in Avarua.  

During Covid, he was able to do one to two cases via Zoom from his Wellington-based office and has done some since. But there is no substitute for being in the courtroom with your client and the judge or judges, says Irwin.

Irwin acknowledged veteran Cook Islands lawyer Tina Browne who has put her trust in him and instructed him in a few cases.

“Tina’s knowledge of Cook Islands case law and people is truly legendary. A judge once said to me, ‘There’s no case in town … without Mrs Browne’, which I suspect is very accurate,” Irwin said.

“Knowing the law is one thing, but knowing how people relate to one another is just as important.

“I am very much looking forward to working more with Tina, Hinano, Norah, Tepairu, Cecilia and Tepua at Browne Harvey & Associates and I’m looking forward to snorkelling at Tikioki or Black Rock.”