NCJ Number
102135
Date Published
1982
Length
36 pages
Annotation
Based on fieldwork done in Papua New Guinea from 1975 to 1978, this study reviews the nature, operation, and impact of village courts in the rural areas.
Abstract
Although research was conducted in various parts of the country, this essay focuses on the Kerowagi area of the Simbu Province in the New Guinea Highlands. Village courts were introduced in 1974 under the Village Courts Act 1973. Court officials are villagers selected by the village. Customary village law and procedures are the basis for the courts' operation. Although the act apparently reinforces customary law and practice, the village courts are also a radical departure from traditional dispute settlement forms and social control generally. Key changes are a greater involvement and control by the state in dispute settlement and a higher degree of authoritarianism in court officials. The result is a dispute settlement process with little scope for community involvement and disputant consensus. The effective village court attempts to maintain community order village court attempts to maintain community order by punishing fighting, bad language, drunkenness, and gambling, particularly by juveniles. It punishes theft and trespass and facilitates traditional and modern transactions by enforcing contracts and debt. It enforces women's social roles by making divorce difficult to obtain and by punishing unorthodox female behavior. Although the courts have maintained order in many villages, they are not operating effectively in all villages. 1 table.