Constituting Vanuatu: Societal, Legal and Local Perspectives

42 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2010 Last revised: 23 Aug 2014

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

Governance in Vanuatu has been a source of concern for Australia as it forms part of Australia’s ‘Arc of Instability.’ Vanuatu has adopted a modified Westminster system as the Westminster system and its constitution are often advocated as the model for constitutions and governance around the world. In various former colonies local populations were expected to simply absorb its liberal democratic principles apparently on some assumption that such principles were an innate part of human nature. Most readings of history would come to a different conclusion. Vanuatu illustrates this error and the complexities of a society that create not only a broad challenge for governance, but undermines the credibility of simplistic, universalist approaches of liberal solutions including, institutional transplants, to these challenges. This paper asks questions about the nature and status of law in and governance of society in Vanuatu and then examines various answers, from broad social perspectives, and academic sources to interviews conducted among members of the Vanuatu community. It concludes that the system fails as insufficiently attuned to the realities of the society that makes up Vanuatu. That is to say the system fails to effectively address the needs and interests of the population, and fails to sufficiently incorporate the indigenous systems in situ.

Suggested Citation

Sheehy, Benedict and Maogoto, Jackson Nyamuya, Constituting Vanuatu: Societal, Legal and Local Perspectives (2008). Asia Pacific Law Review, Vol. 133, No. 155, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1559901

Benedict Sheehy

University of Canberra ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto (Contact Author)

University of Manchester ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL, M139PL
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
57
Abstract Views
682
Rank
659,215
PlumX Metrics