You are here: Home → Resources → Restorative Justice around the World → Pacific → All Documents → Fiji

Fiji

Up one level

Australian Institute of Criminology. Justice Programs for Aboriginal and Other Indigenous Communities.

Papers from the 1985 Australian Aboriginal Criminal Justice Workshop address legal problems in Australian Aboriginal communities; regulation in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia; the impact of colonialization on Aboriginal crime, self-determination in justice matters, legal services, the impact of incarceration, police relationships, the involvement in local social control in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand; the disproportionate involvement in the Canadian justice system; projects that increase involvement in the administration of criminal justice in Australia, future planning needs and research issues, and enabling legislation of some programs.

Boge, Volker. Conflict potential and violent conflicts in the South Pacific: Options for a Civil Peace Service- A study for Service Overseas

In this paper, Volker Boge observes that modern warfare largely consists of internal wars in lesser developed countries (so called Third World countries). The region of the South Pacific is increasingly affected by factors that cause such wars and by the danger of war itself. In view of these realities, Boge urges the following aims: recognize and analyze potentially violent conflicts; identify factors and people who can help to work against violent escalation of a conflict; and find ways to manage these conflicts and prevent violent crises. To support these aims, Boge distinguishes different types of crisis or conflict prevention: structural prevention; process-oriented prevention; pre-conflict primary prevention; and remedial post-conflict prevention. A particular measure for preventing or reducing conflict would be the sending of peace workers within the framework of a Civil Peace Service. With all of this in mind, Boge surveys several areas rife with existing and potential conflict: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea; the Solomon Islands; Fiji; and Vanuatu. In each instance, he presents a summary, evaluation, and recommendations; historical background to the conflict and its causes; recent developments and the current situation; and possibilities for conflict resolution and a Civil Peace Service; and potential partners for a Civil Peace Service.

Fenton, Florence. Ethnic diversity-challenges for courts

Florence Fenton, Director of the Fiji Law Reform Commission, begins this address by providing a summary of the historical, social, geographical, and political background to the current situation in Fiji. This involves in particular discussion of traditional customary approaches to conflict and wrongdoing and approaches structured in terms of European colonial culture. In general, Fenton examines issues and problems arising out of Fiji’s ethnic diversity as that diversity affects the interaction between culture and traditions on the one hand and the formal legal system on the other hand.

Norapoompipat, Pornpit. Participation of the Public and Victims for More Effective Administration in the Treatment of Offenders

This paper on the participation of the public and victims in the treatment of offenders addresses the participation of the public in institutional and community-based treatment, as well as the involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders, with attention to the situations in the countries represented in the work group in which this paper was presented (Kenya, Japan, Thailand, Fiji, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Korea). The section of the paper on participation of the public in the institutional treatment of offenders addresses prison labor and rehabilitation programs. The latter programs include vocational and education training, life guidance, and work release. For each of these types of programs, the actual situation in various countries is reviewed, along with obstacles to their implementation and effectiveness, as well as recommendations for countermeasures. A section on the participation of the public in community-based treatment first considers the benefits of such treatment and then considers the following community-based program categories: probation and parole, halfway houses and probation hostels, community work programs, aftercare services, mediation, and fine payment. For each of these types of programs, the paper considers the situation in various countries, obstacles to their implementation and effectiveness, and recommendations for improvement. The involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders is discussed in a section that addresses restorative justice programs and problems and challenges in using restorative justice programs in various countries. A table shows the involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders in the countries represented in the work group.

Naitoro, John Houainamo. Solomon Islands conflict: Demands for historical rectification and restorative justice.

In this paper, Naitoro examines an ethnic conflict in the Solomon Islands and the prospects for resolution of the conflict. Naitoro seeks to show that historical injustices through colonialism contributed to the current conflict. Hence, rectification of those historical injustices could contribute to resolution of the conflict. Restorative justice is relevant to the analysis and resolution of the conflict because restorative justice aims to repair harm resulting from crime, injustice, or conflict, and to restore well-being to relationships, communities, and societies. In this context, Naitoro sketches the historical background to the issues, indigenous movements to redress colonial injustices, post-colonial conditions, and the specific application of restorative justice to the conflict.

Hazlehurst,K.M. "Justice Programs for Aboriginal and Other Indigenous Communities - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji and Papua New Guinea."

Papers pertaining to legal problems in Australian Aboriginal communities discuss the impact of colonialization on the physical and mental health of Aborigines and the relation of the latter to Aboriginal crime, Aboriginal self-determination in justice matters, Aboriginal legal services, and the impact of incarceration on Aboriginals. Three papers discuss programs to improve police-Aboriginal relationships in various Australian regions. Five papers consider the involvement of indigenous populations in local social control through such entities as village courts and native tribunals, which resolve some disputes through native representatives who reflect local customs in their decisionmaking. The programs described are in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. A Canadian study critiques a national study of the disproportionate involvement of native people in the criminal justice system. Papers describing community regulation programs in Australia pertain to projects that increase the involvement of Aboriginals in the local administration of criminal justice. Future planning needs and research issues are reviewed. Appendixes contain the enabling legislation for some of the programs described.

Moore, Peni. Lessons learned on the road - teaching restorative justice to marginalised individuals and communities in Fiji.

In countries such as Fiji where coninmunity and national conflict have not been dealt with in healthy and non-violent ways, and justice seems secondary to politicised power and control, diverse individuals and communities are in great need of healing, where harms need to he acknowledged and responsibility admitted in order to remove the guilt and shame that prevents Fiji from moving forward in a positive, healing way. This article will look at teaching restorative justice to minority communities in order to deal with conflict by allowing the victims to participate fully in the process. (author's abstract).

Dinnen, Sinclair. Restorative justice and the governance of security in the Southwest Pacific

This chapter examines the social and historical foundations of restorative justice practices in the Melanesian countries of the Southwest Pacific and, in particular, in the independent states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and, to a lesser extent, Fiji. There are a number of reasons for considering restorative justice in what for many readers is likely to be an unfamiliar part of the world. In the first place, this region is distinguished by its extraordinary high levels of socio-linguistic diversity and legal pluralism. Consequently, there is a richness of regulatory traditions and practices, reflecting the complex entanglement of different social and political orders to be found within the national borders of each of these “imagined communities.” This diversity is particularly marked in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Large numbers of relatively autonomous and self-regulating tribal and clan-based associations continue to exert a significant influence at local levels alongside generally weak introduced national justice systems. While the former have evolved over thousands of years, the latter are the product of a relatively short and recent colonial past. (excerpt)

Durutalo, Alumita. Informal Justice in Law and Justice Reform in the Pacific Region

Durutalo discusses the high incarceration rate of indigenous Fijians. She argues that the government needs to look to traditional justice processes in designing a solution.

Ratuva, Steven. Re-inventing the Cultural Wheel: Reconceptualizing Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding in Ethnicaly Divided Fiji

Ratuva discusses inter-ethnic conflict between indigenous Fijians and Indo-fijians. While the govenrment is working with a national reconcilaition program which creates more social interaction, Ratuva argues that the nation needs a process to focus on the underlying causes to the conflict. He proposes adapting the traditional Fijian veisorosorovi process to be used in the inter-ethnic context. This process is a ceremonial setting where parties in conflict come together to resolve that conflict. This includes the admission of mistakes, forgiveness, resiprocal engagement, premptive action, trust and expectations, and transforming collective relations.

Moore, Peni. Rehabilitation for Change in Fiji: A Women's Initiative

Peni Moore describes the work of Women's Action for Change in Fijian prisons. The group uses drama as an educational tool. The main goal was to help offenders understand the impact of their behaviors and to help themlearn non-violent ways of dealing with conflict. The group worked to change attitudes towards domestic violence.