Introduction to Researching South Pacific Law

 

By Peter Murgatroyd

 

Peter Murgatroyd is the Law Librarian of the University of the South Pacific .  Peter is also Campus Librarian of the Emalus Campus of the University, located in Port Vila, Vanuatu .   Prior to working at the University of the South Pacific, Peter was a library manager at two leading corporate law firms in New Zealand.  Since his appointment at the University of the South Pacific in 1998 Peter has developed a number of web based resources for Pacific legal research including the Pacific Law Journal Index and the Pacific Law Blog and a range of topical pathfinders and research tools on Pacific law.

 

Peter has been invited to speak on Pacific legal research issues at Conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Great Britain.  Peter Murgatroyd was a member of the working group that established the online Pacific Legal Information Institute [PacLII] and continues to offer support to PacLII.  Peter is a Contributing Editor to WorldLII.org and a columnist for the Australian Law Librarian.  Peter has had articles on Pacific legal resources published in the 'Australian Law Librarian', 'Legal Information Management' and 'the Journal of Academic Librarianship'.  Peter is the Past-President of the Vanuatu Library Association.

 

Published June 2006

READ THE UPDATE!

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Sources of Law

                  Constitutions

                  Systems of Government

                  Court Systems
                  Additional readings on the context of Pacific law

Primary materials

                  Legislation

                  Case Law

                  Treaties and International Law

Secondary Materials

                  Reference materials

                  Periodicals
                  Pacific law texts
                  Internet resources

The Legal Profession

Legal education

Law Libraries

Booksellers
Legal News and Current Awareness

References

 

Introduction

The focus of this guide will be on providing a context and resource guide for researching the following small island states of the South Pacific: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, and Vanuatu.  The scope of this research guide does not extend to the US Territories in the Pacific, the French Overseas Territories in the Pacific, nor to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. 

 

Map/Still

 

The islands of the South Pacific consist of thousands of scattered islands spread across hundreds of thousands of square miles of Ocean.  The islands and people of the Pacific Islands can be divided into three distinct groupings: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. Melanesia includes Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Fiji is considered part of Melanesia because of its location. However its culture is much more like that of Polynesia. The Melanesian islands lie south of the equator. Micronesia means ‘tiny islands’. These islands lie north of Melanesia and most of them also lie north of the equator. More than 2000 islands make up Micronesia. Most of them are low-lying coral islands. Micronesia includes Guam, the Caroline Islands, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Gilbert Islands and the single island of Nauru. Polynesia means ‘many islands’. It occupies the largest area in the South Pacific and includes the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu.  The focus of this research guide will be on the islands of Polynesia and Melanesia.

 

Sources of law

An understanding of the recent colonial and post-independence history of the islands is essential in identifying, accessing and understanding the relevant laws as they apply in each of the countries of the Pacific – in particular, which laws of England, New Zealand, Australia, France and the United States of America (USA) still have application in the Pacific.

 

By the late 1800s Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the USA were all competing for control of islands in the Pacific. After Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Germany and the USA took over the Spanish possessions in Micronesia. By the early 1900s Germany also held parts of Nauru, New Guinea and Samoa, and the USA controlled Hawaii and the rest of Samoa. France controlled New Caledonia and French Polynesia and shared control of the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) with Britain. Britain held Fiji, Papua, Tonga, the southern Solomons, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu). After Germany’s defeat in World War 1 (1914-18), Japan received control of the German possessions in Micronesia, New Zealand took over German Samoa, and Australia received control of northeastern New Guinea.

 

Through all these changes of rule, the Pacific islanders themselves had little or no voice in the government.

 

After World War II (1939-45) the United Nations (UN) decided that four areas in the Pacific should be governed as trust territories until they were ready for independence.

 

British Fiji and Tonga gained their independence from the United Kingdom in 1970;the Solomon Islands in 1978; the Ellice Islands, renamed Tuvalu , also in 1978; the Gilbert Islands, which then became Kiribati , in 1979; and the New Hebrides, which Britain had administered jointly with France , in1980.

 

Australia, Britain and New Zealand governed Nauru as a trust territory until 1968 when it too became independent.

 

New Zealand administered Western Samoa (now Samoa) until 1962 when it gained independence.  The Cook Islands became self-governing in free association with New Zealand in 1965 and Niue followed in 1974.  The Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925.  A referendum for independence was held in February 2006 but failed to reach the two thirds majority necessary for Tokelau to become self governing and as such Tokelau continues to be administered by New Zealand.

*The Trust Territory of New Guinea was governed by Australia until 1973. It then became part of the self-governing territory of Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG gained full independence in 1975.  The USA administered the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands encompassing the islands of Micronesia, with the exception of Nauru. The Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia became independent nations in free association with the USA, as did Palau, in 1994.

 

To make provision for independence or full internal self-government, in all countries of the region a written constitution was enacted for each one which was stated to be the supreme law. However, at the time of Independence, none of the countries of the region actually rejected existing laws outright. Law that was saved included:

·        legislation in force in England (and in some cases its former colonies of Australia and New Zealand) at a particular date, often referred to as ‘the date of application’,

·        common law and equity, and

·        ‘colonial’ legislation (made by the legislature of the country before independence) 

 

In addition to the various sources of law indicated above, there is an increasing tendency also to incorporate notions of customary law. Legislation is in place currently in Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu that customary law be part of the law applied by all courts. Furthermore all countries, with the exception only of Tonga, have express provisions for customs or customary law to be used as the basis for determining rights to customary land. Much of what constitutes customary law is however not recorded in a written form but is passed on orally by the Chiefs.

 

To summarize, all countries in the region have several different kinds of laws deriving from several different sources:

·        a written constitution (stated to be the supreme law)

·        written legislation enacted by the legislature of the country either during the period of dependency, or since independence or self-governance, and subsidiary legislation authorized by that legislation,

·        written legislation enacted by the legislature of the former colonial power and applied to, or adopted by, the dependent country, and subsidiary legislation authorized by that legislation,

·        written and unwritten rules of custom and customary law, and

·        unwritten rules of common law and equity

 

Sources of law for each of the countries of the region can be browsed from the Emalus Campus Library of the University of the South Pacific’s ‘Pacific Law Collection’ website.

 

Constitutions

All the countries of the region have a written constitution, except Tokelau, and all of these written constitutions are stated to be the supreme law in their respective countries. The written constitution of most countries in the region is to be found in the first volume of the revised laws of the country. Usually it appears as the first law in the first volume. In the revised laws of Samoa however the written constitution appears in the first volume but in strict alphabetical order under the letter "C"; and the constitution of Nauru is to be found in the collection of laws, 1965-1972, amongst the laws enacted for 1968, about halfway through the volume.

 

The Constitutions are freely available online via the Pacific Legal Information Institute website located at the Emalus Campus of the University of the South Pacific in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

 

Constitutions of the following 12 countries: Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu are also gathered together in ‘Selected Constitutions of the South Pacific’/ Don Paterson, editor. Suva, Fiji: IJALS & USP, 2000. (the Fiji Constitution was omitted due to political instability and uncertainty in Fiji at the time of publication.)

 

Systems of Government

The systems of government adopted by the island states of the south pacific largely resemble the forms of government in place within the former colonial powers in the Pacific.  Countries formerly associated with Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand now possess parliamentary systems.  Kiribati elects from parliament a head of the executive who is also the head of state.  In Tonga, the King of Tonga is the Head of State.  Some former Commonwealth countries retained the British monarch as head of state, represented by a governor-general appointed by the Queen on the advice of the executive.

 

Pacific Island legislatures are based on universal suffrage, however in Samoa only chiefs may be elected to parliament.  In parliamentary systems in the region, executive power is held by a cabinet, derived from and responsible to the legislature.  Legislative elections are held throughout the Pacific Islands.

 

A brief overview of the government and legislative structures for each of the countries of the region can be viewed online from the PacLII website .

 

Court Systems

During the colonial period, introduced laws were accompanied by introduced court systems.  These systems have remained in place throughout the region.  The regional model is hierarchical and typically consists of three levels: inferior courts; a superior court, and an appeal court, with the superior court having supervisory jurisdiction over the inferior courts.  Outside of this formal hierarchy, customary tribunals and courts often exist at village level.  These customary courts and tribunals commonly do not have any formal legal recognition but are based on respect of customary authority.

 

The Court structures and relevant Court Rules for the countries of the region can be viewed online from both the Emalus Campus Pacific Law Collection and PacLII websites.

 

Table 1.

 

Cook Islands:                      Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure
Fiji          :                                   Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure
Kiribati:                                 Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Nauru:                                                      Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Niue:                                        Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Samoa:                                                      Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Solomon Islands:            Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Tokelau:                                 Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Tonga   :                                   Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Tuvalu:                                                     Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

Vanuatu:                              Sources of Law                                      Government                         Court Structure

 

 

Additional readings on the context of Pacific law

Further analysis and commentary can be found in the following publications:

Corrin Care, Jennifer
Introduction to South Pacific Law / Jennifer Corrin Care, Tess Newton and Don Paterson. London, [England] : Cavendish Publishing, 1999.

Pacific courts and legal systems / editors, Guy Powles and Mere Pulea Pacific courts and justice  . [Suva, Fiji] : University of the South Pacific in association with the Faculty of Law, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 1988

 

South Pacific Islands legal systems / Michael A. Ntumy, general editor. Honolulu [Hawaii] : University of Hawaii Press, 1993.

The following texts have been selected by Professor Guy Powles of Monash University and Peter Murgatroyd, Law Librarian, at the University of the South Pacific as particularly useful in gaining a fuller understanding of the historical and socio-cultural contexts of law in the South Pacific:

 

A kind of mending: restorative justice in the Pacific Islands / Sinclair Dinnen, Anita Jowitt and Tess Newton Cain (eds.), Pandanus , 2003

 

Chiefs Today: Traditional Pacific Leadership and the Post-Colonial State / G. White & L. Lindstrom eds, Stanford, 1997

 

Class and Culture in the South Pacific / A.Hooper & ors eds, USP, Suva, 1987

 

Collective Human Rights of Pacific Peoples / Nin Tomas ed, NZHRC, 1998

 

Confronting Fiji Futures / Akram-Lodhi Haroon A (ed)  Australian National University, Canberra, 2000

 

Culture and Sustainable Development in the Pacific / A. Hooper ed, ANU, 2000

 

Custom and the Law / Paul de Deckker abd Jean-Yves Faberon eds., Asia Pacific Press, 2001

 

Custom at the Crossroads / J. Aleck & J. Rannells eds, UPNG Law, 1995

 

Customary Land Tenure and Sustainable Development : Complementarity or Conflict ? / R. Crocombe & ors eds, USP, 1995

 

Developing Cultural Criminology : Theory and practice  in Papua New Guinea Banks /  Cindi (ed)   Sydney Institute of C riminology Monograph Series   No.13, Sydney, 2000

 

Fiji and the World / B. Lal and T. Vakatora eds, USP, 1997

 

Fiji in Transition / B. Lal and T. Vakatora eds, USP, 1997

 

Globalization and culture change in the Pacific Islands , Victoria S. Lockwood ed., Prentice Hall, 2004

 

Governance and Reform in the South Pacific / P. Lamour ed, ANU, 1998

 

Governance in Samoa / E. Hueffer & A. So’o eds, ANU, 2000

 

Heads of State in the South Pacific / Y.Ghai & J.Cottrell eds, USP, Suva, 1990

 

Introduction to South Pacific Law / Jennifer Corrin Care, Tess Newton, and Don Paterson eds, Cavendish, 1999

 

Land, Custom and Practice in the South Pacific / R.G.Ward & E.Kingdon,eds Cambridge, 1995

 

Land Issues in the Pacific / R. Crocombe & and M. Meleisea eds, USP, 1994

 

Land Tenure in the Atolls / R.Crocombe,ed IPS, USP, 1987

 

Land Tenure in the Pacific 3 rd ed R.Crocombe,ed IPS, USP, 1987

 

Law, Government and Politics in Pacific Island States / Y.Ghai ed, USP, Suva, 1988

 

LAWASIA Conference Proceedings: Prospects for Human Rights in South Pacific / LAWASIA, 1985

 

Leadership in the Pacific islands: tradition and future /   Donald R; Lamour, Peter and Von strokirch, Karin (eds) National Centre for Development Studies, RSPAS, ANU, Canberra, 1998

 

Legal Pluralism / P. Sack & E. Minchin eds, ANU, 1986

 

Lo Bilong Yumi Yet: Law and Custom in Melanesia / Bernard Narokobi ed, USP, 1989

 

Melanesia: Beyond Diversity Vols I & II / R.May & H.Nelson eds ANU, 1983

 

New Politics in the South Pacific / W. von Busch & ors eds, USP, Suva, 1994

 

Oceans in the new millenium : challenges and opportunities for the islands. PIM XXVII proceedings, November 8th-12 th   November 1999  - 'Pacem Maribus XXV!!'

 

Pacific Constitutions / P.Sack ed, ANU, 1982

 

Pacific Courts and Legal Systems / G.Powles & M.Pulea eds, USP, Suva, 1988

 

Passage of change : law, society and governance in the Pacific / edited by Anita Jowitt and Dr  Tess Newton, Pandanus , 2003

 

Public Administration and Management in small states: Pacific Experience / Yash, Ghai (ed) IPS, USP, Suva 1990

 

Reflections on Violence in Melanesia / S. Dinnen & A. Ley eds, ANU, 2000

 

Resources, Development and politics in the Pacific Islands / S.Henningham & R.May eds Crawford House, 1992

 

Rule of law, legitimate governance & development in the Pacific / Iutisone Salevoa.  Canberra: ANU Press, 2005.

 

Sources of Law in the South Pacific Region / Jennifer Corrin Care ed. The Journal of Pacific Studies Volume 21, 1997.

 

South Pacific Land Tenure Conflict Symposium
Proceedings and papers delivered at the South Pacific Land Tenure Conflict Symposium 10-12 April 2002.

 

South Pacific Foreign Affairs Handbook / S.Hoadly, Allen & Unwin, 1992

 

South Pacific Islands Legal Systems / M.Ntumy, ed, Uni of Hawaii Press, 1993;

 

Tides of History: the Pacific Islands in the 20 th Century / K.Howe & ors eds, Allens, 1994;

 

Tu Galala: Social Change in the Pacific / D.Robie ed Wellington, 1992

 

*‘Occasional’ Series, ‘Working’ Papers, Annual Reports, Conference Papers, Yearbooks and Workshop Proceedings are also a rich source of material and should not be overlooked.  Of particular note are the regional political summaries in the Asia-Pacific Constitutional Yearbook and also those published in Contemporary Pacific.

 

South Pacific Primary Legal Information

The largest repository of primary materials for the South Pacific is the Emalus Campus Library of the University of the South Pacific located in Port Vila, Vanuatu.  Requests for copies of materials can be made via the Emalus Library website .

 

Full holdings of the Emalus Campus Library can be browsed online as can indices to consolidations of laws for the region and indices to published law report series of the region.

 

The largest online repository of primary materials for the South Pacific is PacLII.  PacLII is also located on the Emalus Campus of the University of the South Pacific.

 

Legislation

Many of the countries in the Pacific Islands region have published consolidations of their statutes.

Cook Islands Laws (1994)
Laws of Fiji (1985)
Laws of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands (1973)
Laws of Kiribati (1980)
Laws of Nauru (1966)
Niue Laws (1990)
The Laws of the Solomon Islands (1996)
Tokelau Laws (1997) & (2004)
The Laws of Tonga (1988 rev. ed.)
Laws of Tuvalu (1984)
The Laws of the Republic of Vanuatu (1988)
[Western] Samoa Statutes Reprint (1920-1977) & (1978-1996)

 

Case Law

Law reports

The following South Pacific law reports series have been published. It should be noted that publication of the various reports is often sporadic. Although the publication of the various reports is continuing, there can be lengthy gaps between volumes.

 

Also of note:

Online Primary Materials

The PacLII website is the most complete repository of Pacific materials on the Internet.  PacLII contains collections of legislation and judgments from around the Pacific.  It is also the home of the Journal of South Pacific Law , detailed historical and constitutional notes discussing sources of law for the region, and provides access to the hardcopy law collection of the Emalus Campus Library .

 

PacLII also maintains a chart detailing the procedural Rules of Court that apply across the region.  Another excellent new addition to the PacLII site is the link to:   International Treaties & Agreements, etc. in the South Pacific see Pacific Islands Treaty Series .

 

Secondary Materials

Reference materials 

Bibliographies :

Pacific law bibliography / compiled by Jacqueline D. Elliott 2nd ed. Hobart, Tas. : Pacific Law Press, 1990

 

Encyclopedias and Yearbooks :

The Pacific Islands : an encyclopedia / edited by Brij V. Lal and Kate Fortune. Honolulu, Hawaii : University of Hawai'i Press, 2000.

 

Pacific Islands Yearbook / edited by Norman & Ngaire Douglas 17th ed. Suva, Fiji : Fiji Times Ltd., 1994 Location:  REF 990 Pac. 1994

 

The Far East and Australasia Yearbook . London [England] : Europa Publications.

Periodicals (Law):

Pacific Law Journal Index
The 'Pacific Law Journal Index' , maintained by Peter Murgatroyd, Law librarian at the University of the South Pacific, consolidates article references identified in Jacqui Elliot's 'Pacific Law Bibliography' 2ed., 'Wilsons Index to Legal Periodicals Online', the University of Hawaii's 'Pacific Journals Index' and 'Agis Plus Text online' into one easily searchable online index.  The Pacific Law Journal Index is an absolutely essential access point for journal articles on Pacific law. 

 

The following countries are covered in the index:

 

Cook Islands , Fiji , Kiribati , Micronesia (including Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands ), Nauru , Niue , Pitcairns Island, Papua New Guinea, Samoa , Solomon Islands , Tokelau , Tonga , Tuvalu , Vanuatu.

 

The foremost periodicals examining legal issues in the south pacific are the Journal of South Pacific Law , published by the School of the Law of the University of the South Pacific, and the Melanesian Law Journal published by the University of Papua New Guinea.  Both periodicals are available online via PacLII .

Other journals that give particularly good coverage of Pacific legal issues include:

Periodicals (General):

The University of Hawai'i maintains an excellent index of Pacific journals held in its collection and this is freely available over the Internet.  This is an essential access point for journal articles on the Pacific. 

 

Hawai'i Pacific Journal Index
Searchable index (author, title, keyword) of Pacific journals held by the University of Hawaii.  Essential access point for journal articles on the Pacific.  Highly recommended. 

 

* Those journals marked with an asterix above and below can be browsed on the HPJI by entering the name of the journal and then selecting Search by 'Journal Title'.  Results are sorted by author order.

**Journals which will be of particular interest and well worth browsing include the following: (Click on highlighted journals to browse selected articles of particular relevance to Pacific law)

 

The Contemporary Pacific: a Journal of Island Affairs (Centre for Pacific Studies, UH) * ~ see also abstract archives

 

**Of particular note in Contemporary Pacific are the regional legal / political summaries that are included yearly.

Development Bulletin (ANU)
Isla: a Journal of Micronesian Studies*
Journal of Pacific History (ANU) *
The Journal of Pacific Studies (USP) *
The Journal of the Polynesian Society *
Journal of Solomon Island Studies
Man and Culture in Oceania (Japanese Society for Oceanic Studies)*
Micronesian Counselor (Full text articles addressing social and development issues)
Oceania*
Pacific Economic Bulletin (ANU)*
Pacific News Bulletin (Pacific Concerns Resource Centre)
Pacific Perspective (USP)*
Pacific Studies (Brigham Young Uni, Hawaii.  Browse or search table of content) *
 

Pacific Law Texts

Civil procedure and courts in the South Pacific / Jennifer Corrin Care. 2 nd ed. London: Cavendish, 2004.

 

Collective human rights of Pacific peoples / conference organising committee, Ngapere Hopa ... [et al.] ; editor, Nin Tomas.  [Auckland, N.Z.] : University of Auckland, [1998].

 

Commercial law and practice in the South Pacific / Mohammed Ahmadu & Robert Hughes.  London: Cavendish, 2006.

 

Company law in the South Pacific / Robert Hughes and Mohammed L. Ahmadu. Suva, Fiji : Institute of Justice and Applied Legal Studies, University of the South Pacific, 2001.

 

Criminal Laws of the South Pacific : text and materials on criminal law and procedure in the South Pacific / Mark Findlay.  2nd ed. (Laws of the South Pacific Series).

Suva [Fiji] : IJALS, The University of the South Pacific, 2000.

Custom and the law / Paul de Deckker and Jean-Yves Faberon (editors).  ANU, Canberra : Asia Pacific Press, 2001.

Essays and documents on human rights in the Pacific .  (Victoria University at Wellington Law library / Monograph; no.4) Wellington, N.Z. : Victoria University Press, 1992.

External trade and investment law : an introductory guide / Mohammed L. Ahmadu. Suva, Fiji: IJALS, 2001.

Fiji income tax law / Peter N. Fulcher.  (Laws of the South Pacific series).  Suva, Fiji : Institute of Justice and Applied Legal Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1999.

Introduction to South Pacific Law / Jennifer Corrin Care, Tess Newton and Don Paterson. London, [England] : Cavendish Publishing, 1999.

A kind of mending : restorative justice in the Pacific Islands / Edited by Sinclair Dinnen, Anita Jowitt and Tess Newton Cain. Canberra : Pandanus Books, 2003.

Law for Pacific women : a legal rights handbook / P. Imrana Jalal.  Suva, Fiji : Fiji Women's Rights Movement, 1998

The law of banking in Fiji : a practical guide / by Mohammed L. Ahmadu.  London : Avon Books, 1998

Lo bilong yumi yet = Law and custom in Melanesia / Bernard Narokobi; editors, Ron Crocombe, John May and Paul Roche.  Goroka, PNG : Melanesian Institute for Pastoral and socio-Economic Service; [Suva, Fiji]: USP, 1989.

Pacific Constitutions: proceedings of the Canberra Law Workshop VI. / Peter Sacks editor.  Canberra Australian National University 1982

Pacific courts and legal systems / editors, Guy Powles and Mere Pulea. [Suva, Fiji] : University of the South Pacific in association Monash University, 1988. 

Passage of change : law, society and governance in the Pacific / edited by Anita Jowitt and Dr Tess Newton. Canberra : Pandanus Books, 2003.

Proving customary law in the common law Courts of the South Pacific / Jean Zorn and Jennifer Corrin Care.  London : British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2002.

Selected constitutions of the South Pacific / Don Paterson, editor. Suva, Fiji : IJALS & USP, 2000.

 

Sources of law in the South Pacific / edited by Jennifer Corrin Care. [This issue published as vol. 21 of 1997 of the Journal of Pacific Studies. Copy 3 held in permanent reserve collection. See web link for details of contents.]  Suva, Fiji School of Social and Economic Development, USP 1997.

South Pacific Handbook of Treaties and other legal instruments in the field on environmental law .  (UNEP/SPREP Publication series on Environmental Law and Policy ; no. 1).  Apia, Nairobi : SPREP, UNEP, 1998.

South Pacific Islands legal systems / Michael A. Ntumy, general editor.  Honolulu [Hawaii] : University of Hawaii Press, 1993.

South Pacific property law / Susan Farran & Don Paterson.  London : Cavendish, 2004.

Succession Law in the South Pacific / Robert A. Hughes.  Suva, Fiji : Institute of Justice and Applied Legal Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1999.

Trust law in the South Pacific / Robert A. Hughes. Suva, Fiji : Institute of Justice and Applied Legal Studies, The University of the South Pacific.

Internet resources

A full listing of Pacific law sites is maintained by the Law Librarian at the University of the South Pacific, Peter Murgatroyd.  This annotated list can be browsed from the Emalus Campus website and also from the WorldLII online catalogue .  The WorldLii online catalogue for the Pacific Islands is able to be browsed thematically as well as by jurisdiction.  All internet resources noted on the catalogue have been catalogued and are able to be searched via keyword.

The Legal Profession 

A directory of South Pacific Islands Law Societies and Bar Associations is maintained on PacLII.

Legal Education

The University of the South Pacific offers both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in law.  The USP law programme is taught from the Emalus Campus of the University of the South Pacific and is available in face-to-face mode as well as via online distance delivery.

Law Libraries

The Emalus Campus Library of the University of the South Pacific is the largest repository of pacific legal materials in the region and provides a document delivery service for materials from its extensive collection.

Booksellers

Pacific law texts are available from the University of the South Pacific bookshop .  The catalogue is available online and orders can be made via the internet.


South Pacific Books in Auckland, New Zealand is also an excellent source of pacific law texts and materials:

Legal News and Current Awareness

The Pacific Law Blog is a regularly updated list of links to the latest news and developments in the region as well as providing details of recently published texts and periodical articles.

References

Corrin Care, Jennifer
Introduction to South Pacific Law / Jennifer Corrin Care, Tess Newton and Don Paterson. London, [England] : Cavendish Publishing, 1999.

Pacific courts and legal systems / editors, Guy Powles and Mere Pulea Pacific courts and justice  . [Suva, Fiji] : University of the South Pacific in association with the Faculty of Law, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 1988

The Pacific Islands : an encyclopedia / edited by Brij V. Lal and Kate Fortune. Honolulu, Hawaii : University of Hawai'i Press, 2000.