Traditional values and modern challenges in property law

After decades of negative portrayal of traditional land tenure systems by the world's financial institutions, the World Bank has finally conceded that traditional modes of land tenure serve a beneficent purpose, and provide a foundation for the functioning of nonmarket institutions. This is tantamount to the recognition that land serves a dual function, namely the provision of the foundations of market and non-market social institutions.\ud \ud Thus traditional land tenure systems can no longer be dismissed as a relic of ‘the Arcadian fantasy era in which noble savages were expected to wander off happily ever\ud after to their dreaming sites and practice self-determination, in mystic communion with the land.’\ud \ud From such recognition of the function of traditional tenure flows the challenges it must face, the foremost being how to make traditional land tenure viable and relevant in a\ud global economic system propelled by market forces and by concepts of sustainable development. Globalisation is proceeding on the assumption of a borderless world in\ud which property and appurtenant interests and rights can be effected instantaneously. The issue is therefore whether traditional land tenure systems and concomitant rights can\ud retain a status autonomous of such a global economic matrix or be integrated into it.\ud \ud In this regard the present writer essays a discussion of an issue pertinent to the theme of this conference, namely natural resources and ownership of the traditional knowledge\ud which sustains them

Native title, crown property and resources: Post-Mabo judicial interpretations of statutory declarations and statutory vesting provisions

It is clear from the decision in Wik Peoples and Thayorre People v Queensland that the grant of a pastoral lease does not create a full legal reversionary interest in the Crown and is, therefore, insufficient to expand the Crown’s underlying radical title. The cases discussed in this paper, however, focus on a very different exercise of sovereign power: whether legislative vesting of property in the Crown can, without more, confer beneficial title upon the Crown. Although there are various legislative regimes which generally purport to vest property in the Crown, this paper will focus on two specific examples of legislative vesting which relate directly to land. The first, considered in Part I, deals with the various legislative regimes which contain express declarations of Crown ‘property’ in minerals. The second, examined in Part II, deals with express legislative vesting of resumed land in the Crown

Real Property - Possession

Abstract not availabl

Real Property - Licences

Abstract not availabl

Cases and materials on Papua New Guinea land law and policy

Abstract not availabl

Real Property - Creation and Acquisition of Proprietary Interests in Land

Abstract not availabl

Land law and policy in Papua New Guinea

This is the second edition of a book that was first published in 1996 on issues relating to land law and policy in Papua New Guinea. It marked the first substantive statement on the subject since Professor Rudi James' work in land law and policy in Papua New Guinea, which was published by the Law Reform Commission in 1985. The authors of the book are eminently qualified to write on the subject, a subject which is so close to hearts of all Papua New Guineans. Both have taught at the former Faculty of Law at the University of Papua New Guinea. The second edition of this book marks both an important contribution to the availability of textbooks on Papua New Guinea law and the authors' continuing interest in the interplay of land law principles, use and development of land, and government policies on land. This edition is particularly significant because it complements the authors' most recent publication titled Land Law in Papua New Guinea; a publication which was one of a series prepared under the auspices of the AusAID funded Access to Laws project. They wrote that book with Mr George Muroa, Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has continued a process of examining its laws, most of which have been introduced from England and Australia, over the years to make them more appropriate to the requirements of the country as it develops and changes. Some of these laws have received severe criticism from lawyers, academics, politicians and ordinary people. The inclusion in this book of articles and other related commentaries which indicate a divergence of views on different aspects of land law by persons other than the authors to augment the text confirm, to some extent, this continuing process. Most major legal principles regarding land law are technical and therefore difficult to understand, unless one is trained to understand and appreciate their significance. While some of the criticisms that have been made against land law principles are valid, others owe their origins to a genuine lack of an understanding of these complex principles. However, a lack of written materials on the subject only compounds the problem. This edition addresses this and the related wider issue of accessibility to written materials on land law in this country in a concise, authoritative and accurate manner. I especially commend them for the additional material they have included in this edition, material which they were not able to include in the first edition. The first edition was sold out almost immediately after it was released. This probably explains why the Michael Somare Library of the University of Papua New Guinea does not have a copy of that edition. I am sure that the second edition will, as it truly deserves, receive similar acclaim and popularity. And, this time, the Michael Somare Library will be at the front of the race to get an appropriate number of copies

Land law in Papua New Guinea

Abstract not availabl

Commercial and business organisations law in Papua New Guinea

Business and commerce form the twin engine that propels the economy of a modern nation. They ensure steady economic growth and development. In an age of globalisation, they assume even greater importance than at any time in human history. A nation risks being marginalised or left behind in the race for a share of the world economic market unless it ensures the stability of its business and commercial sector. Trade regulation, good governance and democratic institutions go hand in hand in guaranteeing political and social equilibrium. Thus, laws designed to facilitate trade and commerce are a vital component of the political and social equation. In a developing economy such as that of Papua New Guinea, the place of commercial and business law cannot be underrated. This text, Commercial and Business Organisations Law in Papua New Guinea, is therefore a timely and apposite treatise in Papua New Guinea's economic environment, given the nation's vast and mostly untapped natural resources and therefore its potential for participation in the global market. The book covers business organisations law and various aspects of commercial law in Papua New Guinea. This is a valuable book for law students, legal practitioners, accountants and business executives, not only within Papua New Guinea but also in Australia and throughout the South Pacific