Executive summary The enduring success of Australia’s democracy rests on many vital foundations including a free press, informed and diverse debate, the rule of law, free and fair elections, active civil society and the checks and balances provided by courts and other institutions. Yet, despite Australia’s strong democratic history, there is a clear and disturbing...

Overview

The world was battered by crises that fueled xenophobic sentiment in democratic countries, undermined the economies of states dependent on the sale of natural resources, and led authoritarian regimes to crack down harder on dissent. These developments contributed to the 10th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.

In September 2011, the author was one of two Federal Court of Australia judges appointed to the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to sit on civil and commercial appeals. The article provides a personal account of the author’s first year as a member of the PNG judiciary. This was an eventful...

At self-government in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965, the Cook Islands adopted the Westminster Parliamentary Democratic system of government. Alongside these modern systems were the traditional family-based Ariki (chiefly) system that was recognised in the Constitution, and by an act of Parliament in 1966 the House of Ariki was established. An...