Introduction To South Pacific Law

This book provides an overview of the law of 11 of the member countries of the University of the South Pacific region: Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It aims to provide students, academics, and practitioners from within and outside the region with an introduction to South Pacific law, legal systems and jurisprudence. The text provides an overview of the origins and development of law and legal systems in the South Pacific. It sets out the framework of the legal systems of the region and looks at both introduced and local laws in operation, including customary law. The text also covers public and private law in force and highlights the distinguishing features of the substantive law in force in the South Pacific. The hierarchy of the courts and both civil and criminal procedure in the region are also covered. The book includes a glossary of relevant legal terms.This text is a unique combination of information, not only on legal systems generally, but also on substantive areas of law. Individual chapters are devoted to: Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, Customary Law, Land Law and Tort Law. Extensive reference is made to legislative provisions of individual jurisdictions and cases decided by the courts of the region, many of which are unreported. It is, thus, an extremely useful resource for all interested in the law of the South Pacific Islands region.