Abstract
On Independence in 1980 Vanuatu adopted a number of sources of law as part of its transitional provisions. These sources included “the British and French laws in force or applied in Vanuatu immediately before the Day of Independence’. Despite the diversity of sources of law, English has become the dominant language of the law, and English common law (as developed to fit local circumstances) is the primary source of legal principles. French law has not been completely subsumed, however. This paper surveys Vanuatu case law to determine the current place of French legal principles in Vanuatu’s legal system. As well as providing a baseline study, the paper aims to determine whether: (1) unity has been achieved by “English legal principles [overtaking] the French by stealth’; (2) a diverse range of English and French laws are being drawn upon as contextually appropriate; or (3) whether French within the legal system is a vehicle for divisiveness, allowing longstanding anglophone/francophone conflicts to continue being contested.
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