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Sovereignty, Self-Determination and the South-West Pacific a Comparison of the Status of Pacific Island Territorial Entities in International Law

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Sovereignty, Self-Determination and the South-West Pacific a Comparison of the Status of Pacific Island Territorial Entities in International Law http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. Sovereignty, Self-Determination and the South-West Pacific A comparison of the status of Pacific Island territorial entities in international law A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws at The University of Waikato by Charles Andrew Gillard The University of Waikato 2012 iii ABSTRACT This paper compares the constitutional arrangements of various territorial entities in the South-West Pacific, leading to a discussion of those entities‟ status in international law. In particular, it examines the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Norfolk Island, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and American Samoa – all of which are perceived as „Territories‟ in the international community – as a way of critically examining the concept of „Statehood‟ in international law. The study finds that many of these „Territories‟ do not necessarily fit the classification that they have been given. In particular, most of the territorial entities listed above have significant competence to control their own domestic affairs. Some have also begun to develop their own international legal personality by virtue of de facto control over their own external affairs. The United Nations‟ focus on ensuring self-determination also indicates that these territorial entities are likely to gain more autonomy as time goes on. As a result, this paper argues that some of the „Territories‟ are not necessarily Territories at all; instead, they possess independent control over their own domestic and external affairs, and therefore act as de facto States on the global stage. However, many of these territorial entities still remain heavily associated with recognised sovereign States, with none of the included territorial entities possessing their own de jure Head of State or citizenship: both of which are arguably key foundations of an independent identity. Consequently, there are still questions over the extent to which the territorial entities can be considered sovereign, especially given that the relevant „administering States‟ still seem to take economic responsibility for their territorial entities if they believe the situation warrants it. Given these points, this paper argues in favour of a reconceptualisation of the concept of Statehood. It argues that the rise of territorial entities which not only have independent control over their affairs, but which also have significant links to existing States, means that terms such as independence and sovereignty are not either/or concepts. Instead, these concepts should be seen as spectrums, giving rise to a broader definition of Statehood that does not restrictively define States as independent, sovereign entities, but that embraces the concept of „Freely Associated States‟. iv v STATEMENT OF CLARIFICATION This piece of work was completed while the author was employed by the New Zealand Treasury. Despite this, the opinions contained herein are those of the author alone, and do not necessarily constitute the opinion of the Treasury, the New Zealand Government, the University of Waikato, or any other organisation that the author is connected to. vi vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank a number of people who have supported and encouraged me throughout this project: I would like to thank my family, my flatmates, my friends and my work colleagues, for always providing me with support and motivation to continue with this work and to make sure that I finished it. Thanks in particular to Ellis, Tegan, Pene, Toni, Richard, Rachel, Lee and Will for putting up with my constant desire to share interesting facts about the Pacific with you. I am sure that you now know far more about Pacific Island constitutional law than you ever wanted to! I would also like to thank the University of Waikato, who provided me with a Masters Research Scholarship, which helped to support me financially over the year. Similarly, I wish to thank the Treasury, who provided me with some much- needed study leave so that I could complete this endeavor on time and without significant stress. In particular, thank you to Siân Roguski for all your help, interest and support. Thank you also, to the wonderful people who were kind enough to proof-read for me, especially Anna Davies, Maxine O‟Neil, and Liz Thomas for giving up huge amounts of your time to read the whole document from cover-to-cover. My thanks as well, to the wonderful officials from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the various Embassies and High Commissions in Wellington, and the Office of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, for all their advice and information. Without your help, pulling together the research behind this thesis would have been a lot more challenging. My deepest thanks go to Gay Morgan, for your supervision and assistance, as well as for your dedication for putting up with me writing this thesis from the other end of the country. And of course, thank you to Sapphire, for all your help, support, and ability to still put up with me. This is for you. viii ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................. iii Statement of Clarification ....................................................................................... v Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. vii List of Tables and Figures ...................................................................................... xi Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Research Method ..................................................................................................... 3 Comparative Law Methodology ....................................................................... 3 Territory Selection ............................................................................................ 6 Paper Structure and Core Research Questions ................................................. 7 Chapter I: States, Territories, and Self-Determination............................................ 9 Independent Legal Personality ......................................................................... 9 „States‟ in International Law ............................................................................ 9 „Territories‟ in International Law ................................................................... 14 States, Territories, and Self-Determination .................................................... 16 Achieving Self-Determination ........................................................................ 20 Chapter II: Introducing the Pacific Territories ...................................................... 27 The Realm of New Zealand ............................................................................ 27 The Commonwealth of Australia and its External Territories ....................... 35 The Republic of France and its Territories in the Pacific ............................... 39 The United States of America and its South-Pacific Territory ....................... 47 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 52 Chapter III: Culture & Identity ............................................................................. 53 Constitutional Structure and Design: Protection of Local Culture ................. 53 Legislative Bodies in the Constitution ........................................................... 55 Cultural and Local Land Protection ............................................................... 57 Head of State .................................................................................................. 59 Language ........................................................................................................ 62 Citizenship ...................................................................................................... 65 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 67 Chapter IV: State-Territory Links and Associations ............................................. 69 Identity-Based Links, including Territories‟ citizenship and Heads of State . 69 Legislative Competence over Domestic Affairs ............................................. 71 Legislative Competence for Constitutional Change ....................................... 80 Economic Links between Territories and Administering States .................... 85 Judicial Links between Territories and Administering States ........................ 92 What does this tell us about Independence? ..................................................
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