About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

21 Syracuse J. Int'l L. & Com. 65 (1995)
A Question of Law or Politics - Indigenous Claims to Sovereignty in Australia

handle is hein.journals/sjilc21 and id is 69 raw text is: A QUESTION OF LAW OR POLITICS? INDIGENOUS CLAIMS TO SOVEREIGNTY IN AUSTRALIA, Dianne Otto* I. Introduction ............................................... 65 II. Indigenous Discourses of Sovereignty ...................... 68 A. The Emerging Narrative of a Post-Colonial Australia ... 69 B. The Continuing Importance of Indigenous Sovereignty.. 72 1. Sovereignty as Fundamental to Identity ............. 74 2. Sovereignty as the Means to International Personality ......................................... 75 3. Sovereignty as Acknowledgement of Indigenous Associations with Land ............................ 76 C. The Tenacious Hegemony of the Colonial Discourse .... 77 III. The Shaping of Sovereignty by International Law .......... 79 A. The Legal Construction of Indigenous Peoples . ...... 80 B. The Legal Construction of Sovereignty .............. 83 1. Sovereignty as a Consequence of Decolonization .... 84 2. Sovereignty as an Outcome of Secession ........... 87 3. Sovereignty as a Fundamental Human Right ........ 89 4. Sovereignty as a Right of Indigenous Peoples ....... 91 C. The Connections between Indigenous and Legal Sovereignty Discourses ................................ 92 IV. Strategies for Contestation - A Question of Law or Politics? ................................................... 94 A. Transforming Indigenous Peoples .................... 95 B. Reconceptualizing Sovereignty ...................... 97 C. Politics or Law ? ....................................... 101 V . Conclusion ................................................ 102 I. INTRODUCTION At first glance, it would appear that neither law nor politics pro- vides an avenue for addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sovereignty claims in Australia today. In 1992, the Australian High * Lecturer in Law, University of Melbourne, Australia. 1. Many commentators have expressed the view that indigenous sovereignty in Australia is no a longer a legal, but rather a political, issue. See, e.g., Noel Pearson, Aboriginal Law and Colonial Law Since Mabo, in ABORIGINAL SELF-DETERMINATION IN AUSTRALIA 155, 156 (Christine Fletcher ed., 1994).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most