Navigating Law-making and Law Reform in Small Jurisdictions

Abstract

However they are defined, the many small jurisdictions of the world face several challenges when it comes to making and changing law. With small populations and limited finances, they may find themselves without adequate funds or sufficient numbers of expert legal staff to establish and maintain the institutions required for successful law-making and law reform. They may also find themselves vulnerable to international demands to enact or revise legislation to meet international norms or to standardise their laws with other, larger states. Many are also living with the legacy of colonialism which has resulted in a mixed legal system or one where colonial law has displaced customary law. Despite these challenges, small jurisdictions have shown themselves to be successful in navigating the wide seas and shallow reefs of legal change: they have been at the forefront of legal innovation, they have demonstrated how to accommodate international pressures while preserving their autonomy and national distinctiveness in their laws and, through regional co-operation bodies, they provide an exemplary model of how all states might work together in these endeavours.