'Outstanding contribution' to Indigenous legal scholarship praised
Dr Carwyn Jones, a senior lecturer at Victoria’s Faculty of Law, has been awarded two prizes by the Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand (LSAANZ).
The LSAANZ awards prizes annually for the most outstanding contribution to the field of law and society by an Australian or New Zealand scholar. Dr Jones was awarded both the Book Prize and the Early Career Research award for his book New Treaty, New Tradition: Reconciling New Zealand and Māori Law (Victoria University Press, 2016) at their annual conference last week.
Dr Jones’ book discusses the resolution of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims and the ways they continue to shape the culture of both Māori and government. It draws on examples from Canada and New Zealand to illustrate how Western legal thought has shaped the claims process.
“I am thrilled that the book has been recognised in this way, particularly given the high calibre of law and society scholarship produced in Australia and New Zealand,” Dr Jones says.
LSAANZ described New Treaty, New Tradition as “an outstanding, original contribution to a now growing body of Indigenous legal scholarship,” and praised its theoretical depth and richness. “This really makes it a standout law and society text—one that surveys every aspect of a disparate body of literature and draws on this literature to weave together a richly layered law and society analysis of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement processes.”