As a result of a partnership with the National Congress of the aboriginal people of Kanaky/New Caledonia, researchers and partners of the project The State and Indigenous Legal Cultures have been following the developments of the work of the Kanak people regarding indigenous law and legal pluralism. New Caledonia's Customary Senate recently proclaimed a Charter of the Kanak people therefore highlighting the importance of their work.

Adopted on April 12th, 2014 by the chiefs of the eight customary regions and proclaimed on April 26th, 2014 during a ceremony in Nouméa, the Kanak Charter reiterates the foundations of the Kanak people’s culture and provides a “superior legal framework, embracing an historic reality and guaranteeing unity and the expression of their inherent sovereignty”. Although New Caledonia has been colonised for 161 years, the Kanak people have preserved their values and founding principles. In this 30-page charter, eighteen founding principles are affirmed. Amongst them are human life, connection to the land, the role of the spoken word, the importance of the Kanak name, the symbolic and legal importance of the igname, customary forgiveness, and the systematic search for consensus. According to François Féral, law professor at the University of Perpignan and co-researcher of the project The State and Indigenous Legal Cultures, “this is truly a novel approach for an indigenous people”. He also added that this charter has legal value because it is internationally recognized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Colonised by the French Republic since 1853, New Caledonia is currently following a path of decolonisation. From a political perspective, the proclamation of this charter ties in with the provincial elections that took place last May, therefore ending the last mandate of the Nouméa Accord of 1998, which provides that a referendum on self-determination must be organised before 2018.

Professor Féral adds that even though this charter has not been adopted by the State, it demonstrates the need for collaboration and legal cooperation with the State. Raphael Mapo, a Kanak leader, doctoral candidate and collaborator of the project The State and Indigenous Legal Cultures, says “there is no intention to undermine western institutions but there is a wish that Kanak customs be taken into account in public policy”.

In taking this line of action, the Kanak people are going forward with their legal emancipation. The Senate president, Paul Vakie, says that the Charter represents the Kanaks' articulation of their basic legal system and the need for its full recognition which will not happen in his opinion, until there is what he calls a balanced legal pluralism.

Download the Kanak Charter here:

 Charte-Kanak-2014.pdf

(source: Kanak Customary Senate)