Scottish constitutionalism in Aotearoa New Zealand: a tale of two treaties

Following a comparative overview of the histories of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and the Anglo-Scottish Union (1707) in the law and constitution of New Zealand and the United Kingdom respectively, this paper explores the role of a Scot, James Busby (1802–1871), in the framing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Drawing on recent scholarship on the meaning of the neglected English text of the Treaty of Waitangi, the paper then considers how Busby’s understanding of the Anglo-Scottish Union informed his interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi. The paper suggests that Scottish interpretations of the Union’s fundamental status in the constitution of Britain influenced some historical interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi’s foundational place in the law and constitution of New Zealand. The paper ends by arguing for the importance of appreciating the plurality of the metropolitan British state when unearthing New Zealand’s constitutional history.