Jayden Houghton

Jayden Houghton (Rereahu Maniapoto) is a Senior Lecturer and Assistant Dean at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland / Te Wāhanga Ture o Waipapa Taumata Rau. Jayden’s research primarily focuses on the response to Wai 262 and is published in international journals, including the International Journal of Human Rights, the Torts Law Journal and Legalities, and the leading domestic law journals: the New Zealand Law Review and New Zealand Universities Law Review. His contributions so far evaluate the government’s response to Wai 262, propose a reconciliatory procedural framework for the response, examine the impacts of privacy law and trade marks on mātauranga Māori and taonga, and develop a tort of misappropriation of culture. Other publications include articles on property law and legal pedagogy, a forthcoming co-edited book on protecting Indigenous knowledge, and a forthcoming co-authored book in which he contributes chapters on tikanga Māori, the recognition of tikanga Māori by state law, and collisions between tikanga Māori and state law. Jayden has taught undergraduate and Honours courses on the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, and supervised several dissertations on these issues, some of which have been published. In 2021, he was awarded the University of Auckland early career excellence in teaching award.