Constitutionalism of Australian First Nations: A Comparative Study

by Maria Salvatrice Randazzo

Overview

The book considers Australian First Nations constitutionalism by drawing on the chthonic constitutional traditions of three distinct Australian First Nations legal orders: the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi legal orders, in the endeavour of identifying, via a comparative analysis, a core of similarities to be drawn upon and articulate an emergent legal theory common to the three legal orders. The comparative analysis is undertaken at the most foundational levels of their legal traditions, via the prism of a legal paradigm elaborated with reference to an Australian Indigenous cosmological, ontological, and epistemological standpoint. The proposed legal theory comprises a broad overview, general concepts, normative principles, and general working principles. In so doing, the book expounds how Australian First Nations constitutionalism unfolds into holistic orders of spiritual, political, and legal authority that are explainable in terms of legal theory. At the most foundational level, such elaboration may help delineate normative and legal constitutional patterns throughout Indigenous Australia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367760281
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/29/2022
Series:	Indigenous Peoples and the Law
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Maria Salvatrice Randazzo is a Research Fellow at the Asian Pacific College of Business and Law, Charles Darwin University, Australia. Her areas of specialization and research include comparative legal systems, transnational law, human rights, Indigenous legal theory, Western legal theory, and Indigenous constitutionalism. She has been admitted to the Court of Appeal of Messina and the Court of Cassation of Rome as a barrister. She has also been admitted to the Northern Territory Supreme Court as a legal practitioner.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

PART ONE: First Nations Constitutionalism, Conceptual Apparatus, and Methodological Framework

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: A conceptual narrative of constitutionalism: modern conceptualisation and contemporary (re) formulations

Chapter 3: A conceptual apparatus for inquiries into Australian First Nations constitutionalism

Chapter 4: Journeying ‘extraordinary places’: methodological approaches for a macro-intercultural comparison of Australian First Nations constitutional orders

PART TWO: The Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi Constitutional Orders Compared

Chapter 5: The genesis of the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi constitutional orders

Chapter 6: The foundational principles of the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi constitutional orders

Chapter 7: The basic institutional elements of the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi constitutional orders

PART THREE: An Emergent Legal Theory of the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi Constitutional Orders

Chapter 8: Articulation of an emergent legal theory for the Warlpiri, Yolngu, and Pintupi constitutional orders

Chapter 9: Conclusion

Glossary

Bibliography

Index