Justice, legality, and the rule of law : lessons from the Pitcairn prosecutions / edited by Dawn Oliver.

Format:

• Book

Contributor:

• Oliver, Dawn.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Law--Pitcairn Island.
• Common law--Reception--Pitcairn Island.
• Colonies--Law and legislation--Great Britain.
• Trials (Rape)--Pitcairn Island.
• Human rights--Pitcairn Island.
• Criminal liability--Pitcairn Island.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 2004 six Pitcairn men were convicted of numerous offences against girls and young women, but what right did the British government have to initiate these prosecutions? Was it fair given that no laws had been published on the island? Indeed what law was there on this island? This book explores the issues raised by the Pitcairn case.

Contents:

• ""Contents""; ""Foreword""; ""Preface""; ""Table of Cases""; ""Table of Legislation, Treaties, and Conventions""; ""List of Contributors""; ""1. Problems on Pitcairn""; ""A Thought Experiment""; ""The Government and Governance of the Island""; ""'Operation Unique': Investigation of Alleged Offences""; ""Trials and Convictions""; ""The Next Chapters""; ""2. The Pitcairn Prosecutions, Paper Legal Systems, and the Rule of Law""; ""Steven Raymond Christian and Others v The Queen in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council""; ""The Colonial Status of Pitcairn""
• ""The Machinery of Justice Points""""Legality and the Rule of Law""; ""Reflections""; ""And Afterwards ...""; ""3. Pitcairn's Tortured Past: A Legal History""; ""The Settlement: 1790â€?1814""; ""A savage society""; ""A biblical monarchy""; ""Recognition: 1814â€?56""; ""Intervention: 1856â€?98""; ""Settled Government: 1898â€?Present""; ""Conclusion""; ""4. Pitcairn Island Law: A Peculiar Case of the Diffusion of the Common Law""; ""The History of the Sources of Law in Pitcairn""; ""The law originally in force in Pitcairn""; ""Legal development after the original settlement""
• ""The Abuse of Process Issue""""A Concluding Comment""; ""5. The Pitcairn Prosecutions: An Assessment of Their Historical Context by Reference to the Provisions of Public International Law""; ""Jurisdiction: A Brief Conceptual Analysis""; ""On Territorial Acquisition""; ""Sovereign Title and Sovereign Obligations""; ""Concluding Reflections""; ""6. 'A Million Mutinies Now': Why Claims of Cultural Uniqueness Cannot be Used to Justify Violations of Basic Human Rights""; ""Narrating Pitcairn""; ""The alleged failure to respect the uniqueness of Pitcairn""
• ""The incoherence of the cultural narrative and the reality of the sexual abuse that occurred on Pitcairn""""The distorting influence of the emphasis on Pitcairn's isolation""; ""'Cultural' Arguments in Relation to Pitcairn""; ""Minority group rights claims""; ""'Cultural defence' claims""; ""'Cultural relativism' claims""; ""The Dangers of Exaggerated Respect for 'Culture'""; ""Conclusion""; ""7. Rights and Duties on Pitcairn Island""; ""Cultural Relativism, Universality, and Blameworthiness""; ""Legal Positivism and Natural Law""; ""Legality and Community""; ""Conclusion""
• ""8. Legality, Reciprocity, and the Criminal Law on Pitcairn""""Crown Jurisdiction in Pitcairn: Community and Legal Theory""; ""Mala in se""; ""The importance of promulgation""; ""Promulgation and ignorantia""; ""Two values of promulgation and legal positivism""; ""Return to Pitcairn""; ""Fairness""; ""The Limits of Criminal Law""; ""Rights of victims""; ""The value of certainty in the criminal law""; ""Summary and Conclusion""; ""Afterword""; ""How are Islands Made?""; ""Speculations""; ""Comparisons""; ""End""; ""Appendix I: Steven Raymond Christian and Others v The Queen [2006] UKPC 47""
• ""Appendix II: Official Correspondence""

Notes:

• Description based upon print version of record.
• Description based on print version record.
• Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 0-19-172159-X
• 1-283-58147-7
• 9786613893925
• 0-19-158267-0

OCLC:

801405044