Waikato Public Law and Policy Research Unit
The Waikato Public Law and Policy Research Unit promotes the widest conception of Public Law and Policy, encompassing administrative law, charity and the regulation of civil society, constitutional law, criminal law and justice, and international law. It was established to fill a clear gap in the interrogation of these policy research areas in an integrated and holistic way.
Waikato Public Law & Policy Research Unit
Te Piringa – Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato has an established tradition of outstanding scholarship in Public Law and Policy as demonstrated by the contributions of the Faculty’s founding Dean, Professor Margaret Wilson, and Professor Sir Grant Hammond.
Today a significant number of Faculty members continue to have research interests in these fields focused on the Faculty’s founding principles of professionalism, biculturalism, and the study of law in context.
Current work in the Faculty covers a wide range of common law jurisdictions, in addition to New Zealand and Pacific Island states, and extends from constitutional and administrative law and theory to giving effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori & indigenous governance.
The Public Law & Policy Research Unit promotes the widest conception of Public Law and Policy, encompassing administrative law, charity and the regulation of civil society, constitutional law, criminal law and justice, and international law. It was established to fill a clear gap in the interrogation of these policy research areas in an integrated and holistic way.
Aims and Objectives
The main aims and objectives of the Public Law & Policy Research Unit are to promote research in the areas of public law and policy, and to develop a research unit of national and international reputation by providing:
- A focal point for the exchange of ideas between academics, practitioners and civil society through colloquia, symposiums, seminars and public lectures;
- Research support for Faculty members and visiting scholars engaged in relevant research projects;
- Encouragement and development of research output by the Faculty’s research students through a programme of work-in-progress seminars and research forums;
- Interaction with overseas scholars and practitioners through the Faculty’s visiting professor and scholar programmes;
- Engagement and outreach with governments and NGOs in Pacific Island states, and with public authorities in the Waikato region and central North Island;
- and Dissemination of research findings through publication.