Charting Pacific Legal Futures: Symposium Examines Law, Custom, and Climate in the Region
What role does law play in shaping the future of Pacific nations as they respond to climate change, political instability, and the tension between imported legal systems and indigenous legal traditions?
This question guided—Exploring Pacific Legal Futures: Conversations on Human Rights and Jurisprudence—a symposium held on 3 July 2025 at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Organised by Dr Mele Tupou Vaitohi and supported by the German Embassy, the event brought together students, legal scholars, policymakers, and diplomats to examine legal issues and developments in the Pacific.
View a gallery of images from the symposium
Professor Geoff McLay, Dean of Law opened the day by affirming the University’s commitment to Pacific-focused legal scholarship. He emphasised that law must respond to lived experience and encouraged attendees to see legal research as a way to engage with questions of identity, sovereignty, sustainable development, and justice.
Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, the outgoing Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika) and former Minister for Pacific Affairs, addressed the importance of grounding legal systems in context-specific cultural values. She called for sustained investment in Pacific legal institutions and greater inclusion of local perspectives in constitutional and legal reform within the region.
Professor Emerita Jennifer Corrin delivered the keynote, drawing from her long engagement with constitutional and customary law in the Pacific. She analysed how many postcolonial constitutions attempt to promote, protect, and fulfil both human rights and custom, yet often fail to reconcile the two. Corrin noted that although constitutions may celebrate custom in their preambles, such recognition rarely shapes judicial outcomes when rights and custom are in tension. She emphasised the need for clearer, more flexible mechanisms to enable legal pluralism in practice.
Student researchers presented on a range of issues confronting Pacific legal systems, from judicial diversity and customary law to climate displacement and constitutional design. Speakers included Janna Sonnenschein, Finn Meredith, John Sibanda, Isla Clarkson, Michael Turnbull, Anna Smart, Yasmina Latu, Taylah Sharrock, Summar Ioane, Theo Castle-McLean, Olga Suvorova, and Sarah Burton.
Their work explored challenges such as the dominance of foreign judges in local senior courts, the integration of tikanga into statutory frameworks, and the instability caused by frequent no-confidence motions. Presentations also addressed climate-related loss of sovereignty, the legal status of displaced communities, gender inequities in seasonal labour schemes, and the case for recognising regional customary international law to protect maritime entitlements and statehood.
The event closed with reflections from His Excellency Mr Sakias Tameo, Papua New Guinea’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, who also presented the Prize for Best Paper presentation to John Sibanda.
Dr Tupou-Vaitohi concluded the symposium with acknowledgements and a call to continue the dialogue. With support from the Faculty of Law and the German Embassy, the symposium affirmed the University’s role as a forum for Pacific legal thought and a platform for emerging voices. Sincere thanks to Dr Mele Tupou Vaitohi for her leadership, and to all speakers, students, and guests whose contributions enriched the dialogue and contributed to the event’s success.