The Hybrid Courts of Melanesia : A Comparative Analysis of Village Courts of Papua New Guinea, Island Courts of Vanuatu, and Local Courts of Solomon Islands

This paper examines three systems of
courts of justice, each in a different country in the region
of South Pacific islands known as Melanesia, where state
legal systems have been adopted from former European
colonial governments. The systems discussed are, by
comparison, 'hybrid', each of them having been
established with the intention of addressing disputes among
small-scale social groups by less formal means or by taking
greater heed of customary forms of dispute resolution. The
paper applies a comparative analysis of these systems,
covering their distinct history and the variances in
structure, funding, personnel and jurisdictional coverage
that impact on their effectiveness as state-sanctioned
courts. Conclusions are offered with observations about the
strengths and weaknesses of these hybrid systems and their
potential for development as instruments of community-owned
justice in Melanesia.