The Waitangi Tribunal is heading into a week of hearings centred on Treaty of Waitangi obligations as they relate to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

The hearings will hear evidence on whether the protection for the Treaty of Waitangi is as robust as the Government claims.

Auckland University Professor Jane Kelsey said the intention of the hearing is to report back to the select committee before the TPP is ratified by Parliament.

"There are of course separations that need to occur between the quasi-judicial process of the Tribunal and the Parliamentary process."

"But I know that a number of the claimants are hoping that the information will be out in the public domain before the Select Committee report."

Lawyers for tribes and Maori organisations have argued that foreign investors will be given priority at the expense of Maori.

New Zealand Maori Council lawyer Peter Andrew said a treaty exemption clause in the TPP still relies on the government to determine when rights are being breached, and breaches could be as hard to prove as the existence of Taniwha.

He says ongoing water claims have already shown how thorny the issue is, and there's little chance of it ever being resolved if the TPP goes ahead.

Kelsey said the clause guaranteeing Treaty rights was first used in the Singapore free trade deal, and has simply been copied and pasted wholesale into this new deal.

She said it's now outdated, and not fit for such a big agreement, so won't fulfil its purpose of protecting the Treaty.