Customary rules and the welfare principle: Post independence custody cases in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

SINCE THE ADVENT of independence in Solomon Islands on 7 July 1978 and Vanuatu on 30 July 1980, customary law has been given official recognition as part of the law of the land by virtue of provisions contained in the respective Constitutions of the two countries. Post-independence there has been a somewhat sporadic series of cases where the courts have had to grapple with the two related problems of determining (1) what is the proper place of customary law in the ‘league table’ of sources of law and (2) how to resolve, as far as possible, conflicts between customary law and the law from outside sources, commonly and in this article referred to as ‘received law’.