Section 455 of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 provides the Māori Land Court with the jurisdiction to identify successors and successors’ interests in SILNA lands.
The Māori Land Court is conducting an
inquiry to establish the successors to SILNA lands pursuant to Section 29, Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 in accordance
with an application filled by the Minister of Māori Affairs, currently under application A20180009373.
If the deceased did not leave a will, under the Act, their land will transfer as follows:
• If the deceased had children, they receive equal shares of the deceased’s land interests
The Act now clarifies that Māori Land Court judges will follow
the tikanga of the hapū or iwi associated with the land being
succeeded to when deciding whether whāngai can succeed to
a land interest.