Abstract
This work was drafted with the aim of assessing the potential consequences of a transition from constitutional monarchy to republic in Aotearoa New Zealand. This inquiry began in the context of an ageing popular monarch (Queen Elizabeth II), and the understanding that when the throne passed on to the next in line, New Zealand may begin to query whether a transition to a republic is viable. On September 8th, 2022, this became a reality, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II installing King Charles III as monarch and Head of State of New Zealand. The change in monarch, which had not occurred for the past seventy years, raises the potential for the republican inquiry to be raised in the modern New Zealand context. This thesis aims to analyse whether a transition to a republic is possible in New Zealand by assessing the vulnerable aspects of the New Zealand constitution in such a constitutional transition. This inquiry focuses on constitutional conventions and the Treaty of Waitangi as the most vulnerable elements of the constitution, and assesses whether their instabilities are able to be rectified in order for New Zealand to become a republic.
This thesis focuses on the additional question of whether New Zealand is able to retain the essential elements of its uncodified constitution in a republican transition. The analysis throughout this thesis leads to the conclusion that New Zealand would be able to transition to a republic whilst retaining the essential characteristics of the uncodified constitution, inclusive of constitutional conventions and the Treaty of Waitangi, which are identified as particularly vulnerable areas.
The thesis is written in four parts: background (Chapter I); constitutional transition (Chapter II); constitutional conventions (Chapter III); and the Treaty of Waitangi (Chapter IV). These four chapters analyse the uncodified constitution of New Zealand and how it does and may function in the settings of constitutional monarchy and republicanism. With a soft republican lens, this work is able to identify that with minimal necessary change, New Zealand is able to transition to a republic whilst retaining the essential characteristics of an uncodified constitution. The results of this thesis have potential implications in how a future transition to a republic may occur. This work provides certainty as to which aspects of New Zealand’s uncodified constitution need particular care in a constitutional transition.