[ANU Pacific.Institute] Fwd: Guy Powles' seminar

[Katerina Teaiwa]

Dear All,

You are cordially invited to Guy Powles’ seminar at the Australian National University on Tuesday 23 September 2014.
No registration required. We hope you can make it.

The Monarchy and the Constitution: Tonga’s Achievements in Political Reform
Guy Powles, Law Faculty, Monash University

Lecture Theatre 2, Hedley Bull Centre (130), corner of Garran Road and Liversidge Street, ANU

Tuesday, 23 September, 2014 - 15:00 to 16:00
The Kingdom of Tonga, which possesses one of the oldest extant constitutions in the world, decided four years ago to make amendments to it that are the most significant in its history. The Monarch would cease to be Head of Government. Instead the executive authority of the state would be vested in a Cabinet of elected Ministers.
The door onto a path to democracy has been opened, and during the term of office of the first Government elected under the reformed Constitution, it is possible to review achievements and to seek to understand consequent problems.
This paper examines the historical and social factors that have shaped people’s thinking about the Monarchy and its role today. These include the historical depth of the contribution of the first King Tupou I, the pre-eminence of the Monarchy as a determining social value, the status of highly ranked chiefs called Nobles, and the early penetration of centralised law.
After outlining the movement for reform and its processes, the paper discusses the outcomes and also pays particular attention to aspects concerning the Monarch – such as apparent difficulties in defining his constitutional powers and providing him with advice.
Themes developed in the paper include the significance of public attitudes towards such matters as traditional authority and rank, amending the Constitution, independence of the judiciary, ‘good governance’ laws and practices, and participation in decision-making processes leading to greater trust in elected Governments.

Dr Guy Powles of the Law Faculty at Monash University, Melbourne, taught Pacific Comparative Law for twenty years. He has practiced law in New Zealand, the UK and Australia, and held judicial appointments in Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia. He was involved in the establishment of the Law School of the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu where he supported teaching and research for many years.
Guy’s primary field of interest and expertise is the law and custom of the peoples of the Pacific Islands. His doctoral research at the Australian National University examined the significance of traditional leadership for the development of legal systems and government in Polynesian societies and the early introduction of constitutions.
It was in this capacity that he studied the history of Tonga’s and Samoa’s constitutions and has been closely associated with the recent constitutional reform process in Tonga. This has taken the form of advice requested over time by Government and by the Commissions on Constitutional Reform and Land.
He regularly presented papers, particularly at conferences in the Pacific Region, and published widely on current topics, including Tonga. Retired from teaching, Guy works from his home office, where he may be contacted at guy.powles at monash.edu<mailto:guy.powles at monash.edu>


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