Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction / Anita Jowitt and Tess Newton-Cain -- Section 1: The context of change. Modernisation and development in the South Pacific / Vijay Naidu -- Section 2: Corruption. Corruption / Robert Hughes -- Governance, legitimacy and the rule of law in the South Pacific / Graham Hassall -- The Vanuatu Ombudsman / Edward R. Hill -- Section 3: customary law. Custom then and now: the changing Melanesian family / Jean G. Zorn -- Issues in contemporary customary law: women and the law / Jean G. Zorn -- Rites, whites and might: a critique of the effect of the revival of customary law upon the autonomy of indigenous women / Susan Bothmann -- The incorporation of customary law and principle into sentencing decisions in the South Pacific region / Tess Newton Cain -- Section 4: Human rights. The notion of human rights / Anita Jowitt -- Human rights vs. custom in the Pacific: struggle, adaptation, or game? / Ian Fraser -- Customary family law and gender discrimination in Papua New Guinea / Owen Jessep -- Section 5: Natural resource issues. Environmental law issues in the South Pacific and the quest for sustainable development and good governance / Laurence Cordonnery -- Legal developments in the conservation and management of highly migratory and straddling fish stocks in the western and central Pacific Ocean / Laurence Cordonnery -- Section 6: Rebuilding nation states. Building bridges -- Law and justice reform in Papua New Guinea / Sinclair Dinnen -- Constitutions as limits on the state in Melanesia: comparative perspectives on constitutionalism, participation and civil society / Anthony Regan -- Legal pluralism and the problem of identity / Robert Hughes.

Print version record.

English.

Numerous issues face Pacific states trying to find their way in the early 21st century. Countries are striving to secure the benefits of modernisation. Governance, law and order are needed to reach such a goal, but development cannot be at the price of culture or the environment. The question of how to develop and maintain sound legal systems and legal rules whilst maintaining the unique cultural heritages within the Pacific is a challenge with no easy answer. This interdisciplinary collection locates issues of law and governance within the particular socio-political context of the Pacific island region, presenting sociological, anthropological and political insights alongside jurisprudential analysis. Key issues including corruption, the role of customary law in modern legal systems, the place of human rights in the Pacific, environmental issues and the structure of the state are explored from a variety of perspectives.

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