Monique van Alphen Fyfe - Stout Street Chambers, Wellington

Monique practises in civil litigation, with particular expertise in public law, resource management law, Tiriti o Waitangi law, and indigenous legal issues. Her experience includes acting for clients in claims for and against government agencies, in general commercial litigation and arbitration, in Tiriti and settlement litigation, and in claims before international institutions. She has appeared in a number of notable cases of public interest and in a range of forums, including the Waitangi Tribunal, High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.

Alongside her litigation work, Monique is committed to advancing law reform and encouraging legal development. She is an adjunct lecturer in property law at Victoria University | Te Herenga Waka focussing on native title and tikanga in relation to land, and is a member of a number of committees, including: the New Zealand Law Society Human Rights and Privacy Committee; the Wellington branch Women in Law Committee; and the New Zealand Bar Association Advocacy Committee.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CAREER | NGĀ TOHU MĀTAURANGA ME TE UMANGA

Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (2016).
Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honours), Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (2004).

Before joining Chambers in 2019, Monique was a judges’ clerk at the High Court of New Zealand | Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa for Justices Clifford, Dobson and Thomas, and Assistant Crown Counsel in the Constitutional and Human Rights Team at the Crown Law Office | Te Tari Ture o te Karauna. She previously held the positions of Editor-in-Chief of the Victoria University Law Review, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the New Zealand Women’s Law Journal – Te Aho Kawe Kaupapa Ture a ngā Wāhine. Monique practised as a registered architect at Athfield Architects before redirecting her career to law.

NOTABLE CASES | NGĀ KĒHI HIRA

Te Tiriti o Waitangi litigation

Acted for the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency in two urgent judicial review proceedings, successfully challenging the Ministry of Health’s failure to provide data so Whānau Ora providers could identify unvaccinated Māori and provide them with targeted kaupapa Māori vaccination services (Te Pou Matakana Ltd v Attorney-General [2021] NZHC 2942 and [2021] NZHC 3319).
Acted for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua Settlement Trust in judicial review proceedings concerning the Waitangi Tribunal’s preliminary determination to use binding recommendation powers under s 8A and 8HB of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 in respect of lands at Pouākani and Ngāumu Forest (Mercury NZ Ltd v Waitangi Tribunal [2021] NZHC 654).
Acted for Ngāti Manawa in declaratory judgment and judicial review proceedings concerning allocation decisions under the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Act 2008, which established a tikanga-based resolution process for allocating Central North Island forests land amongst eight iwi on the basis of mana whenua (2021, judgment reserved).

Public and administrative law

Acted for Afghan nationals in their successful urgent judicial review of Minister of Immigration and Immigration New Zealand decisions to suspend residence visa processing while Covid-19 border restrictions were in place (Afghan Nationals v Attorney-General [2021] NZHC 3154).
Acted for the applicants in a successful application for judicial review of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa’s decision to set fees for registration and practicing certificates on an annual rather than triennial basis (Jones v Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand Matatū Aotearoa [2021] NZHC 1581).
Acted for the New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture as intervenor in judicial review proceedings and on appeal challenging the legality of the lockdown and the Director-General’s use of s 70 of the Health Act 1956 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic (Borrowdale v Director General of Health [2021] NZCA 520 and [2020] NZHC 2090, [2020] 2 NZLR 864).
Acted for the applicants in a successful application for interim orders in judicial review to prevent compulsory acquisition and demolition of an historic building, in the context the Minister for Land Information’s decision to acquire the land under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016 (Logan v Minister for Land Information [2021] NZHC 1050).

Other cases / advice

Advised a number of parties and decision-makers
Acted for the New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture in the Supreme Court as intervenor in proceedings concerning whether class actions can be opt in or opt out under r 4.2 of the High Court Rules 2016 (Southern Response Earthquake Services Ltd v Ross [2020] NZSC 126).
Acted for the New Zealand Police in a Supreme Court appeal against registration under the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016 (D v New Zealand Police [2021] NZSC 2).
Acted for the Ministry of Justice in the Court of Appeal as intervenor in proceedings bringing a Bill of Rights challenge against Police failures to facilitate access to legal advice through the Police Detention Legal Assistance scheme (Kerr v New Zealand Police [2020] NZCA 245, [2020] 2 NZLR 663).
Acted for the Attorney-General in the High Court, successfully defending the Charities Registration Board’s decision declining the applicant charitable status (Better Public Media Trust v Attorney-General [2020] NZHC 350).

PUBLICATIONS | NGĀ HUA