Justice within : Justice en soi : les traditions juridiques autochtones : document de discussion

The exercise of Indigenous laws in Canada, their importance to the health and success of Aboriginal communities, governance and cultural identity, the practical steps that might be taken to ensure greater recognition of Indigenous legal traditions and the challenges to doing so are the subject of this Discussion Paper. [...] In considering the question, the Court held: Now, as I said before, even admitting, for the sake of argument, the existence, prior to the Charter of Charles, of the common law of France and that of England, at these two trading posts or establishments respectively, yet, will it be contended that the territorial rights, political organization, such as it was, or the laws and usages of the Indian tr [...] The Ayuuk, the ancient legal code of the Nisga’a, is recognized in the Nisga’a Final Agreement as a source of Nisga’a law and has guided the Nisga’a in the enactment of dozens of pieces of modern legislation. [...] Laws based on a community’s own traditions and principles the conception of the individual’s responsibility would be more relevant and meaningful to its members and could thus to the collective and of the collective’s strengthen the rule of law in the community. [...] Alongside these issues are questions about the scope of the applicability of Indigenous legal traditions, the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the ways in which Indigenous legal institutions will be held accountable to the people they serve, and the ability of Canadians to understand the implications of the unique historical and political position occupied by Aboriginal