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Research Projects

Indigenous Legal Traditions

About

Indigenous Legal Traditions

Indigenous communities around the world continue to uphold traditions about law and relationships among people, in particular, governance of community, of the environment and of punishment for wrong-doing.  Such traditions – often transmitted orally – provide the basis for good community practices and sound decision making.

Canadian courts have recognized the importance of such traditions in certain circumstances.  Indigenous customary laws are used in matters relating to adoptions, marriages and elections.  Lawmaking power is often included in self-government agreements, such as those developed for the Nisga’a territory and in Yukon.  Such power often refers to traditional legal knowledge.  Canada’s constitutional documents, such as the Constitution Act, 1982, among others, also protect customs, practices and traditions that are integral to Indigenous societies.

However, traditional knowledge is often lost, misinterpreted or, more seriously, ignored in decision making.  Its influence has been eroded within some Indigenous communities. Yet, Indigenous legal traditions could be of great benefit to Indigenous peoples and the wider public if they were given space to grow and develop. Canada has distinguished itself as a country that operates effectively with a bi-juridical tradition, and there is much that can be learned and analogized from this experience in creating greater recognition for Indigenous legal traditions in the country.

How can we ensure a greater place in our legal thinking for Indigenous traditions?  What tools can the legal system adopt to allow difference to express itself in decision making?  What tensions arise when difference is expressed?  How can different legal traditions co-exist effectively?

The Law Commission of Canada, an independent federal agency dedicated to the renewal of the law, is pursuing, through research and consultations, the question of protection and respect for indigenous legal traditions in an increasingly pluralistic society.

For a more complete description of the project, click on the following link:

Description of Indigenous Legal Traditions

A Background Paper is currently being prepared for release later this year. It will be available on the Law Commission’s web site or you may order hard copies through info@lcc.gc.ca or by writing to us at:

Law Commission of Canada

1124- 222 Queen Street,

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8

Talk to your family members, your work colleagues and your friends. The Law Commission wants to encourage discussion of these issues and hear your views so that law reform can truly reflect the needs of Canadians.