Judge Wills said the initiative to launch the court in Tauranga was more than 12 months in the planning, and an exciting opportunity to take a fresh approach to dealing with some young offenders.
Rangatahi courts applied the same laws as the mainstream youth court but te reo and tikanga were applied with the objective to get young offenders to connect with their culture, and improve social, cultural and economic outcomes for rangatahi (young people).
Judge Wills said attending a rangatahi court was voluntary after the young person had accepted responsibility for their offending and become involved in a Family Group conference process.
Rangatahi courts were not a "soft option" as the young person would come face to face with their elders at the marae, their family, the youth court judge, and victims if they wished to attend, and admit their wrong doing, and talk about how they could try to make amends.
Kaumatua and kuia (respected elders) provide support and assistance to the judges and rangatahi.
Judge Wills said measuring successes was all about outcomes.
"There is no question that reducing our recidivism rates is behind this initiative, but it's also about giving the young person and their family something they lack, and helping them to reconnect with things they've lost in their lives.
"Having a sense of identity and connection to your culture, your family and community is a very important outcome for our rangatahi."
The judge said the court was open to everyone no matter what ethnic background and judges retained the power to decide who could attend a rangatahi court and sentencing outcomes.
Judge Wills said there were also other tangible benefits not always immediately measurable, for instance younger siblings of offenders who attended the court also learned from the experience.
Ngaterangi iwi chairman Charlie Tawhiao said this initiative was an acknowledgement of how Maori culture had helped address offending, particularly helping rangatahi turn their lives around.
Mr Tawhiao said he had seen other rangatahi courts in action and the marae court environment was a "better change approach", which ultimately saw everyone benefit - the offender, their whanau, victims and the wider community.
"The main benefit is to give the young offender a lens to look at themselves and decide whether their [criminal] behaviour is what they really want other people to know them for," he said.
However, this was not a "fail-safe" approach to youth justice as the process was voluntary, but it was crucial early interventions like this were taken before young people became too entrenched in the offending cycle.
Tommy Wilson, of Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust in Greerton, said marae justice had huge potential.
"If we move the court system to the marae, one of the main things the young person will learn from this process is where they belong, which is more valuable possibly than the punitive measures meted out to them," he said.
Mr Wilson said using this approach last year, the trust worked with 38 potential clients of the justice system, 37 of whom were now back with their families and back at school.
However, marae justice could not be the "panacea for everything. We need to look at why our people are ending up in court in the first place and get to know what is behind their offending and giving them and their families the tools to do something about it."
The first sitting of the court will be on March 30.
