SDG Detail

LAWGENRL 428 : South Pacific Legal Studies

Undergraduate course

Project description

This course is for students who are keen to develop a good understanding of the legal issues facing nations of the South Pacific. The Pacific region contains many different nations with different societies, cultures and also different legal systems. The course is designed to introduce you in detail to some of these legal systems . There will be a special focus on a number of states including Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. A focus of the course is on Constitutional Law , Legal Pluralism and the treatment of customary law and imported concepts of law. The course will also look at the historical, social, economic and cultural context in which Pacific legal systems operate and how that context affects the law of various nations in Oceania. We also examine the international context and how this affects state law. Finally, the course will study the framework of Pacific legal systems including custom law, common law and equity and how each state manages the tension between these overlapping and competing concepts.

Year 2022

Location New Zealand

Organization University of Auckland

Project aims

Project outcome

By the end of this course, students will be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of of the history, theory, nature and substance of law in the contexts of nation states in the South Pacific. (Capability 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.1) Analyse and evaluate legal rules and principles from nations of the South Pacific. (Capability 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1 and 6.2) Identify and analyse complex issues that arise relating to the law and legal systems in the South Pacific. (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1 and 6.2) Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the social, cultural, environmental and economic effects of law and legal processes from national and international perspectives; an understanding of the potential of law in framing equitable and sustainable futures. (Capability 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 6.1 and 6.3)