Te Ātiawa
Judge Sarah Reeves was appointed to the Māori Land Court on 10 December 2010. On 24 November 2021, Judge Reeves was appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal. On 1 May 2023, she stepped into the role of Acting Chairperson.
Based in Wellington, she is one of the two resident Judges for the Te Waipounamu District of the Māori Land Court, hearing cases in Blenheim, Nelson and the Chatham Islands.
Judge Reeves graduated with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Otago and was admitted to the Bar in 1985. She has worked in New Zealand, Rarotonga, Singapore and Hong Kong specialising in commercial and property law. Before she was appointed, she was a senior in-house counsel for the Auckland City Council.
Judge Reeves has presided over inquiries concerning the MV Rena, the Ngā Puhi mandate, the Ngātiwai mandate, and the Ngāti Maniapoto mandate. She is the current presiding officer of the Mana Wahine inquiry.
In addition to her current Māori Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal roles, Judge Reeves was also appointed as a High Court Judge in Niue in 2014.