International Law Issues in the South Pacific.

• Author: Gillett, Matthew
• Position: Book review

INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Edited by: Geoff Leane and Barbara yon Tigerstrom

Published by: Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot, 2005, 284pp, 60 [pounds sterling].

The South Pacific is not an area that features prominently in commentaries on international law. Its geographical position, nestled away in a remote part of the globe, means that even its major countries, Australia and New Zealand, wield only episodic influence over international events. Individuals from various countries in the South Pacific have attained extremely prominent positions in various international organisations; the list includes Mike Moore, the director of the World Trade Organisation, Sir Kenneth Keith, a judge of the International Court of Justice, James Crawford, the Whewell Professor of International Law at Cambridge University, and Judge Slade of the International Criminal Court. However, this disproportionate success has not been replicated at the state level by the countries making up the South Pacific. Rather than being a driving force behind developments in the international framework, the region is largely reactive to the vacillations of international relations. Leane and Tigerstrom's collection of essays convey this theme, whilst at the same time emphasising the positive initiatives within the region to foster and develop intra-regional solutions to issues that most pressingly affect this part of the world.

As an introduction to the substantive chapters, Leane and Tigerstrom survey the social-political context and dynamics of the region. They attempt to outline the character of the region by elucidating major differences between the constituent countries, principally those of size, ethnicity, and political systems. Included nation-states range in size from the sixth largest country in the world, Australia, to Kiribati, with a land area of 690 square kilometres. Ethnicity is diverse, particularly the largely European Australian and New Zealand populations contrasting with the Polynesian ethnicities of the populations of Samoa and Tonga. Political systems vary widely, from the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Tonga to the ethnically delineated composition of the government of the Republic of Fiji. The introductory exegesis succeeds in detailing unifying factors in the region, such as the large proportions of Polynesians living in Australia and New Zealand and the common interests in the development and security of the region...