Ditton, Pam --- "Review - Native Justice in Australia, Canada and the USA: A Comparative Analysis" [1982] AboriginalLawB 18; (1982) 1(3) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 16

• Review-Native Justice In Australia, Canada And The Usa: A Comparative Analysis

---

Review -

Native Justice in Australia, Canada and the USA:
A Comparative Analysis

by B. A. Keon-Cohen

(1981) 7 Monash University Law Review, pp. 250-325.

Reviewed by Pam Ditton

This is probably the first real attempt to compare how successfully justice' is achieved for native peoples in Australia, Canada and the USA. The author first puts the issue into a constitutional framework and then goes on to examine the institutions of justice - federal, state and tribal - and how they operate. This is achieved both by analysing the available materials and drawing on observations based on field-work carried out in all three countries. The author's conclusions do not purport to answer all the difficult questions the Law Reform Commission is grappling with in its customary laws reference, but they do contain some valuable insights.

Aboriginal people are forging links with other indigenous peoples as well as Third World countries. It is no longer sufficient for lawyers working with the Aboriginal community to specialise in the criminal and welfare issues relating to one particular State. While some specialise in land rights and others in Australia's international treaty obligations, still more must look at legal issues from a comparative standpoint. This article is an excellent starting Point.