Justine Inns

Partner

BA LLB (Canterbury 1993)

Mobile 027 2275 324
Email: justine@oceanlaw.co.nz

Justine joined Oceanlaw in January 2005 as a Senior Associate. Prior to joining Oceanlaw, she spent more than a decade as an advisor to various iwi (tribes), including several years with the Ngai Tahu team responsible for negotiating, then implementing, the iwi’s $170M Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement.

Her specialist areas are aquaculture and Māori fisheries (customary and commercial), but she also advises on a wide range of resource management, fisheries and aquaculture issues.

Justine’s skills include:

• Assisting iwi to establish new governance entities (or amending existing structures) to comply with the Maori Fisheries Act 2004, as well as the requirements of other government agencies, such as the Office of Treaty Settlements
• Providing advice on optimal commercial structures for iwi fishing enterprises
• Advising iwi on other elements of compliance with the Maori Fisheries Act, including negotiation of coastline agreements, Maori Land Court dispute resolution and commercial quota/ACE arrangements
• Advising on the implementation of the Aquaculture reform package, including transitional provisions and the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement
• Advising government departments, local government and others on dealing with iwi
• Preparing and presenting submissions to government departments and Parliamentary Select Committees on a range of law reform proposals
• Proficiency in te reo me ngā tikanga (Maori language and custom)

Justine also lectured in the Geography Department and Law School at Canterbury University, and has presented papers to a number of seminars and conferences, most recently a paper on the international human rights dimensions of New Zealand’s Foreshore and Seabed Act to an international Sociology Congress in Trondheim, Norway