1877 Treaty of Waitangi judged ‘legal nullity’

At its lowest point, the Treaty of Waitangi was described by Chief Justice James Prendergast in the Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington case as "worthless", having been signed "between a civilised nation and a group of savages." This extreme view denied that the Treaty had any judicial or constitutional role in government because Māori were not a nation capable of signing a treaty. Since it had not been incorporated into domestic law, it was a "legal nullity". Although many of his conclusions were overturned by the Privy Council by the beginning of the twentieth century, his attitude largely prevailed from the 1870s to the 1970s.