This is part one of three articles on the writing and founding of our Cook Islands Constitution., writes Thomas Wynne.

As Aotearoa grapples with its founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, I decided to have a look at our own founding document, our constitution and what it says regarding what some have determined, our Christian Nation and where this is upheld in our founding document as a democracy

Looking through our constitution I got past the preamble which clearly states our Christian heritage and the Sabbath but nowhere in our constitution does it implicitly protect it or highlight Christianity. In fact, it clearly says: Fundamental human rights and freedoms 64 (1) It is hereby recognised and declared that in the Cook Islands there exist, and shall continue to exist, without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour, religion, opinion, belief, or sex, the following fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Muslim Prayer Room?

Looking at it again I saw the date 1964, and realised only then that this was written a year before we became self-governing, so who did write our constitution and where was it enacted into Law and what if any was our input into this document that has shaped our country since its democratic inception in August 1965?

The Cook Islands Constitution was written primarily under the guidance of external advisers appointed by the New Zealand government. These advisers included Professor Aikman, Professor Davidson, and Mr. Wright. Their recommendations though shaped through discussions with the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly, it is clear members had varying levels of understanding regarding constitutional law. Ultimately, the drafting was finalised by New Zealand's legal draftsman, based on these recommendations and subsequent, quick, short and time pressured consultations with the Assembly from 1962 to 1964.​

A fair question for us all to ask, is what or how was the input of Cook Islanders into the Constitution which from a number of articles at the time I have read, clearly show it was limited by several factors. First, there was a lack of widespread understanding of the constitutional process among many Assembly members and the general populace and secondly, the complexity of constitutional law meant that much of the drafting relied on the expertise of New Zealand-appointed advisers,

This invariably led to critiques that the process did not fully reflect the will of the Cook Islands people.

Additionally, although the Assembly approved the recommendations, there were reports of members not fully grasping the implications of certain provisions. Concerns were raised that the Constitution's content leaned heavily on Western legal and political frameworks, potentially sidelining our perspectives, around our Traditional Leaders, the use of the term Premier, and the eligibility of candidates like Sir Albert Henry – that would be remedied in subsequent amendments.

Immediately I wondered why a referendum on something so critical was not put to the people, Again on reading reports at the time, a referendum was not held during the Constitution's construction due to a combination of logistical and political reasons.

New Zealand's government appeared eager to expedite the Cook Islands' transition to self-government to align with international decolonization pressures, particularly those emanating from the United Nations.

And there was also a perception among some New Zealand officials that the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly, as the elected body, was an adequate representative of the people's will. Critics argued that this decision bypassed a more direct and democratic means of gauging public opinion, leaving some Cook Islanders feeling excluded from the process​, and leaving the formation of our founding document to the few and not the many. For something as critical as our constitution one would have thought the will of the people would have been tanatamount? In a 1956 report to the New Zealand government, Dr. Aikman, (yes, the same one who went on to be one of the three architects of our constitution) as a constitutional adviser, expressed reservations about the readiness of the Cook Islands for self-government. His report highlighted the unfamiliarity of Cook Islanders with Western standards of governance and social organization, a reflection of the gap between traditional Cook Islands governance structures and the modern, Western-style political systems being proposed. Six years later he is drafting our constitution on our path to self-governance and statehood. Part two next week.