Australian Aboriginal customary law

Australian Aboriginal customary law, or customary law in Australia, relates to the system and practices among Aboriginal Australians which have developed over time from accepted moral norms in Aboriginal societies, and which regulate human behaviour, mandate specific sanctions for non-compliance, and connect people with the land and with each other, through a system of relationships.[1]

The words "law" and "lore" are commonly used interchangeably: "law" was introduced by the British, whereas "lore" relates to the customs and stories from the Dreamtime, which has been passed on through countless generations through songlines, stories and dance. Learned from childhood, lore dictates the rules on how to interact with the land, kinship and community.[2] Customary laws are passed on by word of mouth and are not codified (nor can they be easily codified). In addition, they are not singular throughout Australia — different language groups and clans have different concepts of customary law, and what applies within one group or region cannot be assumed to be universal.[3]

Historically, customary law has not been recognised as part of the canon of Australian law. But, since the late twentieth century, the Australian Law Reform Commission (1986) and the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia (2005) have written extensive reports investigating the desirability of recognising the role of customary law in legal situations involving Aboriginal Australians. In the Northern Territory, some statutes and courts make explicit reference to customary law where such is useful in identifying relationships or social expectations.[4] These changes have sometimes been controversial,[5][6] especially in cases where customary law is imprecise or infringes upon human rights.[7]

Regional examples

Arnhem Land
Further information: Australian Aboriginal culture § Arnhem Land

The complete system of customary law of the Yolngu customary law is the "Madayin", which embodies the rights and responsibilities of the owners of the law, or citizens (rom watangu walal, or simply rom). As well as the objects that symbolise the law, oral rules, names and song cycles, and the sacred places that are used to maintain, develop and provide education in the law.[8] ROM and its accompanying ceremonies are concepts and practices shared by the neighbouring Anbarra people, also in Arnhem Land.[9][10]

See also

References
  1. Law Reform Commission of Western Australia (February 2006). Aboriginal Customary Laws (Project 94) - Discussion Paper Overview. Quality Press. p. 7. ISBN 1-74035-056-1.
  2. "The Law and the Lore". Working with Indigenous Australians. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  3. Australian Law Reform Commission (12 June 1986). "24. The Proof of Aboriginal Customary Laws". Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC Report 31). Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  4. Community Welfare Act 1983 (NT) s 69; Sentencing Amendment (Aboriginal Customary Law) Act 2004 (NT) s 4.
  5. Walker v New South Wales [1994] HCA 64, (1994) 182 CLR 45 (16 December 1994), High Court (Australia).
  6. Coe v Commonwealth [1993] HCA 42, High Court (Australia).
  7. "High Court rejects customary law defence in sexual abuse case". The World Today (ABC Radio). 19 May 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  8. "About Yolngu". Nhulunbuy Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  9. Long, Andrew Stawowczyk (1995), "1 transparency : col. ; 5.5 x 5.5 cm.", [Portrait of unidentified Anbarra people performing Rom ceremony...], Collection of photographs taken at opening of 'It's about friendship' - Rom, a ceremony from Arnhem Land exhibition at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 5 January 1995., nla.obj-147351861, retrieved 29 January 2020 – via Trove
  10. "ROM: An Aboriginal ritual of democracy". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Blurb of 1986 book by Stephen Wild. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2020. The first ROM ceremony, a 'ritual of diplomacy', performed outside Arnhem Land was held when the Anbarra people..presented a Rom to AIATSIS in 1982.CS1 maint: others (link)

Further reading


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