Customary Law. Designated and Related Persons shall not be subject to any proceedings in Papua New Guinea to enforce Papua New Guinea customary law, including, but not limited to, proceedings in village courts.
Customary Law. Indian-ness
Customary Law. 1. The traditional norms of indigenous peoples have been and continue to be an essential element for the social regulation of the life of the communities and, consequently, for the maintenance of their cohesion.
2. The Government recognizes that both the failure of national legislation to take account of the customary norms which govern life in the indigenous communities and the lack of access by indigenous peoples to the resources of the national judicial system have resulted in the denial of rights, in discrimination and in marginalization.
3. To strengthen the security before the law of the indigenous communities, the Government undertakes to promote, before the legislative organ and with the participation of indigenous organizations, the development of rules of law which would recognize the right of the indigenous communities to manage their own internal affairs in accordance with their customary norms, provided that the latter are not incompatible with the fundamental rights defined by the national legal system or with internationally recognized human rights.
4. In cases where the intervention of the courts is required, and in particular in criminal matters, the competent authorities should take fully into account the traditional norms governing the communities. To this end, the Government undertakes to take the following measures:
(a) Propose, with the participation of representatives of indigenous organizations, legal provisions calling for the inclusion of cultural expertise and the development of mechanisms which would permit the community authorities to indicate the customs which constitute their set of internal norms; and
(b) Promote, in coordination with Guatemalan universities, professional associations and indigenous organizations, a continuing programme for judges and officers of the court (Ministerio Público) on the culture and identifying features of the indigenous peoples and, in particular, an understanding of the norms and mechanisms which govern their community life.
5. To ensure the access of indigenous peoples to the resources of the national legal system, the Government undertakes to promote free legal advisory services for those with limited economic resources and reiterates its obligation to make court interpreters available to the indigenous communities, free of charge, thus ensuring the application of the principle that no one may be judged without having had the assistance of interpretation into his own language.
6. The Governm...
