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Study questions Weisbrot, “Papua New Guinea’s Indigenous…
Study questions
Weisbrot, “Papua New Guinea’s Indigenous Jurisprudence and The Legacy of Colonialism”
Pp 1-9; 15-18; 39-45
1. What was the structure of the formal courts and the influence of indigenous people in Papua New Guinea (PNG) when it was occupied by colonizers up to 1975? (p 2 top)
2. In the pre-independence period what were the two organizations that were formed to examine PNG’s legal system? (p 2)
3. What are the five broad factors highlighted by Weisbrot for why they failed in their legal transformation post-independence? (p 2-3)
4. Who was the main colonizing power of PNG come 1905? What sort of law did they have based on what we have learned thus far this semester – common law or statutory law? (p 4)
5. In PNG what was the only formal law? (p 4)
6. What areas was custom permitted to operate and what effect did this have on the legal system overall? (p 5)
7. Why is unsurprising that Derham’s recommendations about the courts and institutions never really took root? What ended up happening? What sort of constitution did the 1965 conference, “The rule of Law in an Emerging Society,” end up recommending? (p 5-7)
8. What job was the Constitutional Planning Committee given and what criteria did they have to follow when performing this job? (p 7)
9. What is the focus of schedule 2 of the Constitution and what is it supposed to assist in? (p 9)
10. What are the four matters that are central to the development of the national legal system and largely responsible for the failure of the overall goal of having customary law as a main source of law? (p 9)
11. According section 20 and schedule 2.1 what role should customary law play in PNG’s legal system? According to schedule 2.2 what other law is adopted and where does it come from? (15)
12. Under what conditions are particular laws not adopted? (p 16)
13. What assumptions are made regarding common law that is not given about customary law? (16)
14. Based on your answers to questions 12 and 13, which source of law is more likely to not be adopted common laws based on England or the customary laws from PNG?
15. What are the two identified problems that arose in implementing the constitutional scheme regarding the incorporation of customary law? (17)
16. Why is it the case that customary law is still practiced even if it isn’t necessarily part of the formalized common law practices in PNG? (p 39)
17. What are some places where customary law is officially recognized? (top p 40) What area of law does this fall under? (p 40)
18. What is the role of the Village Court system? What sorts of laws do they mostly concern themselves with – common laws or customary laws? (p 41)
19. Why is it a significant concern that people like judges, lawyers, and politicians are not necessarily interested in the project of truly integrating customary laws into the main legal system? What are the two aspects of this problem that Weisbrot identifies? (p42-43) How does this lead to a continuation of a two-tiered legal system?
