RESOURCES & LAW REFORM

Pacific Legal Databases & their role in facilitating law reform.

Introduction

2 Main ways in which PacLII can facilitate law reform

• 1. publication of legal materials online which aids research

• 2. provision of a low-cost online home for law reform initiatives

The PacLII Resource

• Legal Information Institutes around the world are committed to providing free access to legal materials for all.

• In the Pacific context – PacLII collects legal materials from 20 jurisdictions for online publication

• 118 databases.

The natural divide

PacLII in two parts

• www.paclii.org , the main site, for primary legal materials

• www.paclii.org/gateway for secondary resources and collaborations (launched November 2007)

What legal materials

• Main www.paclii.org site - Legislation, judgments, treaties, court rules, ombudsmen’s reports etc– Also Solomon Islands new Court Rules consultation

paper– PNG Prosecution Policy

• Pacific Legal Gateway www.paclii.org/gateway - a gateway to legal publications; other legal resources and links to other sites considered useful for Pacific legal research. Each site has been vetted by PacLII and commentary added as to the nature of the site.

The Proposal

PacLII propose:

• Hosting on the Pacific Legal Gateway materials for co-participants in pacific legal matters, including the Pacific Law Reform Commissions

What it would look like

• Each co-participant or group would have own space with information submitted to PacLII and uploaded by PacLII

• For groups such as ‘Pacific Law Reform Commissions’, each member would have their own space under the group heading.

Advantages

• A one stop shop for Pacific Legal matters

• PacLII brand name now well known in Pacific

• Economy of scale – cheaper in terms of money and resources for regional LRCs to use an existing regional website