Developing Legislation to Formalise Customary Land Management: Deep Legal Pluralism or a Shallow Veneer?

Farran, Sue and Corrin, Jennifer (2017) Developing Legislation to Formalise Customary Land Management: Deep Legal Pluralism or a Shallow Veneer? Law and Development Review, 10 (1). pp. 1-27. ISSN 2194-6523

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[Law and Development Review] Developing Legislation to Formalise Customary Land Management Deep Legal Pluralism or a Shallow Veneer.pdf - Published Version
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2016-0017

Abstract

One of the many post-colonial claims of indigenous people is the re-assertion of their rights over their land and its resources. Colonial history has created for many people a plural legal system and this, combined with social and economic changes, presents new challenges for development in the realm of traditional or customary land. This article focuses on the Pacific island state of Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides. At independence in 1980 allodial title to all land was returned to the custom owners while colonial forms of land law were also retained. In 2013, after nearly a decade of concern about land alienation, the Vanuatu government introduced the Custom Land Management Act. This article critically analyses this attempt to safeguard customary law and customary institutions in formal, written law, considering in particular the implications for law and development in a plural land law regime.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: indigenous; land rights; customary laws; legal pluralism; South Pacific
Subjects: M100 Law by area
M200 Law by Topic
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Northumbria Law School
Depositing User: Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited: 06 Jan 2017 09:06
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 09:35
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/29018

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