v. 7 n. 01 (2026), Seção de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Ciências Humanas
v. 7 n. 01 (2026)

GUARDIANS OF THE CONSTITUTION OR ENGINEERS OF CHAOS? CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF LAW IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Seção de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Ciências Humanas
Publicado 2026-02-13
Júlio Edstron S. Santos
Advogado, graduado em Direito pela Universidade Presidente Antônio Carlos (2008), Mestre em Direito pela Universidade Católica de Brasília (2014). Doutor em Direito pelo UniCEUB. Pesquisador do Centro Universitário de Brasília. Ex-assessor Especial no Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Tocantins. Professor do Curso de Direito da Fbr. Tem experiência na área de Direito, com ênfase em Direito Público, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: Terceiro Setor, direitos fundamentais, educação em direitos humanos, cidadania e direito e Seguridade Social. Membro dos grupos de pesquisa Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Avançadas do Terceiro Setor (NEPATS), Políticas Públicas e Juspositivismo, Jusmoralismo e Justiça Política do UNICEUB. Editor Executivo da REPATS
PDF

Palavras-chave

Constitutionalism; Legal Pluralism; Papua New Guinea; Comparative Law; Underlying Law.

Como Citar

Edstron S. Santos, J. . (2026). GUARDIANS OF THE CONSTITUTION OR ENGINEERS OF CHAOS? CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF LAW IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Revista Gênero E Interdisciplinaridade, 7(01), 644-684. https://doi.org/10.51249/gei.v7i01.2847
ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver AMA

Baixar Citação

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

Resumo

This research analyzes constitutionalism in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a unique laboratory of legal pluralism in the Global South, investigating the constitutive tension between the Westminster state model and Melanesian oral tradition. This research is justified by its critical relevance to peripheral democracies, illustrating the limits of legal monism in fragmented societies. Methodologically, it adopts a qualitative and functional comparative approach, contrasting PNG’s legal architecture (unitarianism, advisory jurisdiction) with the Brazilian system (federalism, diffuse control). The work examines the genesis of the 1975 “Home-Grown” Constitution, the Judiciary structure, and existential challenges such as the “resource curse” and Bougainville’s independence. It concludes that PNG experiences “Creative Constitutional Uncertainty,” wherein the Judiciary transcends law application to act as a governance design thinker, arbitrating the traumatic transition between tradition and market. The system demonstrates resilience through legal syncretism where the “Underlying Law” seeks to decolonize justice, negotiating sovereignty with local structures.

PDF

Referências

BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS. A crítica da razão indolente: contra o desperdício da experiência. São Paulo: Cortez, 2003.

BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS. Para uma revolução democrática da justiça. São Paulo: Cortez, 2011.

BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS. Refundação do Estado em África: um desafio para o século XXI. Coimbra: Almedina, 2010.

CANNINGS, David. The Role of the Ombudsman Commission in Integrity. In: PE, M. (Ed.). Corruption in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: NRI, 2008.

CANOTILHO, J.J. Gomes. Direito Constitucional e Teoria da Constituição. 7. ed. Coimbra: Almedina, 2003.

CAPPELLETTI, Mauro; GARTH, Bryant. Acesso à Justiça. Porto Alegre: Fabris, 1988.

CHALMERS, Donald; PALIWALA, Abdul. Constitutional Law and History of Papua New Guinea. In: Encyclopedia of Comparative Law. 2013.

CHAND, Satish; YALA, Charles. Land Tenure and Urban Settlements. In: NRI Special Publication, n. 68. Port Moresby: National Research Institute, 2013.

CONSTITUTIONAL PLANNING COMMITTEE (CPC). Final Report of the Constitutional Planning Committee. Port Moresby: Government Printer, 1974.

CORRIN, Jennifer. Customary Law and Human Rights in the South Pacific. In: Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, v. 41, n. 59, p. 29-54, 2009.

CURTAIN, Richard. Health Governance in Melanesia. Canberra: ANU Development Policy Centre, 2022.

DALLARI, Dalmo de Abreu. O Poder dos Juízes. 2. ed. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2002.

DINNEN, Sinclair. Law and Order in a Weak State: Crime and Politics in Papua New Guinea. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2002.

DINNEN, Sinclair. State, Community and Conflict in the Pacific. The Contemporary Pacific, v. 20, n. 1, p. 110-130, 2008.

DINNEN, Sinclair. The Death Penalty in PNG: Politics and Law. Melanesian Law Journal, v. 39, p. 198-215, 2019.

DINNEN, Sinclair. Plural Policing in Papua New Guinea. Canberra: ANU DPA, 2022.

DINNEN, Sinclair; MCLEOD, Abby. Policing Papua New Guinea. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, v. 42, n. 1, p. 80-102, 2009.

FILER, Colin. The Ideology of Landownership in Papua New Guinea. In: WEINER, James (Ed.). The Lost Drum: The Myth of Sexuality in Papua New Guinea. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.

FILER, Colin. New Land Grab in Papua New Guinea. Pacific Studies, v. 34, n. 2, 2011.

FILER, Colin. The Political Economy of Logging and Mining in PNG. Canberra: ANU Press, 2018.

FILER, Colin; GABRIEL, Jennifer. Deep Sea Mining and the Blue Economy. The Contemporary Pacific, v. 31, n. 2, p. 200-230, 2019.

FORSYTH, Miranda. A Bird that Flies with Two Wings: Kastom and State Justice Systems in Vanuatu. Canberra: ANU Press, 2015.

GELU, Alphonse. The Failures of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments. Pacific Economic Bulletin, v. 25, n. 1, p. 40-52, 2010.

GELU, Alphonse. The Politics of the Judiciary. Pacific Economic Bulletin, v. 28, n. 2, 2013.

GELU, Alphonse. Corruption and Anti-Corruption in PNG. Port Moresby: NRI, 2014.

GIBBS, Philip. The Church and the State in PNG. Goroka: Melanesian Institute, 2015.

HAMMAR, Lawrence. Children’s Rights in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: UPNG Press, 2018.

IMBUN, Benedict. Mining in Papua New Guinea: Analysis and Policy. Port Moresby: UPNG Press, 2016.

INJIA, Salamo. Judicial Independence and Funding. Commonwealth Law Bulletin, v. 43, n. 1, p. 10-25, 2017.

JESSEP, Owen. Family Law in Papua New Guinea. Suva: USP Press, 2010.

KABUNI, Michael. Parliamentary Immunity and the Law. Devpolicy Blog, Canberra, 2020.

KABUNI, Michael. Cybercrime Laws and Democracy. Pacific Journalism Review, v. 29, n. 1, p. 30-45, 2023.

KABUNI, Michael. Parliamentary Procedures and Political Stability. Devpolicy Blog, Canberra, 2024.

KAMA, John. Citizenship and Globalisation in Melanesia. Melanesian Law Journal, v. 41, p. 50-68, 2021.

KAPI, Sir Mari. The Slip Rule: A Necessary Evil? Papua New Guinea Law Review, v. 12, p. 55-68, 2004.

KIRSCH, Stuart. Mining Capitalism: The Relationship between Corporations and Their Critics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2018.

KUA, Kerenga. State Liability and Enforcement. PNG Law Society Journal, v. 5, p. 60-75, 2018.

KWA, Eric L. Constitutional Law of Papua New Guinea. Sydney: Lawbook Co., 2001.

KWA, Eric L. Environmental Law in Papua New Guinea. Sydney: Lawbook Co., 2022.

LOMBONDI, Patrick. The Magisterial Service of PNG. Port Moresby: Government Printer, 2015.

MARINONI, Luiz Guilherme. Precedentes Obrigatórios. São Paulo: RT, 2010.

MAY, Ronald J. Arc of Instability? Melanesia in the Early 2000s. Christchurch: Macmillan Brown Centre, 2003.

MAY, Ronald J. The Somare-O’Neill Crisis. Canberra: ANU Department of Pacific Affairs, 2012.

MAY, Ronald J. Politics in Papua New Guinea. Canberra: ANU Press, 2013.

MAY, Ronald J. The Military and the State. Security Challenges, v. 16, n. 2, p. 55-70, 2020.

MAY, Ronald J. State and Society in Papua New Guinea. Canberra: ANU Press, 2022.

MCADAM, Jane. Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

MELLAM, Albert. Access to Justice in Rural PNG. Port Moresby: NRI, 2011.

NARAKOBI, Bernard. The Melanesian Way and Commercial Law. Port Moresby: UPNG Press, 2010.

NONGGORR, John. Legal Education in Crisis. Melanesian Law Journal, v. 34, p. 40-55, 2014.

PALIWALA, Abdul. Law and Development in Melanesia. London: Routledge, 2018.

PALIWALA, Abdul. The Coloniality of Law in Melanesia. London: Routledge, 2019.

REGAN, Anthony J. Light Intervention: Lessons from Bougainville. Washington: US Institute of Peace Press, 2010.

REGAN, Anthony J. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea: A Study in Legal Hybridity. Sydney: Federation Press, 2017.

REGAN, Anthony J. The 2019 Bougainville Referendum and the Question of Independence. The Journal of Pacific History, v. 57, n. 1, p. 58-88, 2022.

ROBIE, David. Don’t Spoil My Beautiful Face: Media, Mayhem and Human Rights in the Pacific. Auckland: Little Island Press, 2019.

ROEBUCK, Derek. The Common Law in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: UPNG Press, 2005.

SAKORA, B. Constitutional Referrals and the Supreme Court. Melanesian Law Journal, v. 30, p. 88-105, 2011.

SEPOE, Orovu. Women in Politics in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2002.

SEPOE, Orovu. Gender and Politics in Papua New Guinea. Canberra: ANU Press, 2016.

STANDISH, Bill. The Dynamics of Papua New Guinea’s Democracy. Pacific Economic Bulletin, v. 22, n. 1, p. 130-145, 2007.

STANDISH, Bill. Elections and the Courts. In: WOOD, Michael (Ed.). Electoral Politics in PNG. Canberra: ANU Press, 2016.

STRATHERN, Marilyn. The Gender of the Gift. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

TOHAVESA, B. Locus Standi in Constitutional Cases. Journal of South Pacific Law, v. 12, n. 1, p. 90-105, 2008.

TWOMEY, Anne. The Veiled Sceptre: Reserve Powers of Heads of State in Westminster Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

TWOMEY, Anne. Constitutional Amendment and Stability. American Journal of Comparative Law, v. 63, p. 190-215, 2015.

WALTON, Grant. Anti-Corruption and its Discontents. London: Routledge, 2020.

WALTON, Grant; HUSSEY, Husnia. The ICAC in PNG: Prospects and Challenges. Devpolicy Discussion Paper, n. 98, 2022.

WANJI, Robert. Language and the Law in PNG. Journal of Pacific Studies, v. 25, p. 40-55, 2002.

WEISBROT, David. Law and Social Change in Papua New Guinea. Sydney: Butterworths, 1982.

WEISBROT, David. Papua New Guinea: The Challenge of Law. Sydney: Butterworths, 1989.

WHIMP, Kathy. Public Interest Litigation in the Pacific. Suva: IJALS, 2009.

WHIMP, Kathy. Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge. Geneva: WIPO/USP, 2012.

WOLFERS, Edward. Bougainville: The Peace Process and Beyond. Canberra: ANU Press, 2006.

WOLFERS, Edward. Judicial Restraint and Political Questions. Pacific Studies, v. 32, n. 3, p. 100-125, 2009.

WOLKMER, Antonio Carlos. Pluralismo Jurídico: Fundamentos de uma nova cultura no Direito. São Paulo: Alfa Omega, 2001.

WOODS, Robert. The National Court of Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: UPNG Press, 2014.

ZORN, Jean. Customary Dispute Resolution. In: CAPLAN, Lionel (Ed.). Dispute Settlement in the Pacific. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2015.