Collection DOC 446 - New Hebrides British Administration the British Laws of the New Hebrides

PMB DOC 446 Finding Aid

Identity area

Reference code

AU PMB DOC 446

Title

New Hebrides British Administration the British Laws of the New Hebrides

Date(s)

  • 1971 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

1 reel; 35mm microfilm

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Scope and content

From 1906 - 1980 three laws operated in the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides (Vanuatu): British, French and Condominium. Joint administrative and legal functions (such as the Joint Court and the land registry) were the responsibility of the Condominium (see PMB Doc 445). However, in other matters both France and the UK could make their own separate laws to apply to their respective nationals and national interests in the New Hebrides. For British legislation, the Order in Council of 1893, article 108, empowered the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific (based in Suva, Fiji) to make Queen's Regulations for persons subject to the High Commission's jurisdiction. This was modified by the New Hebrides Order in Council 1907 which was issued to accommodate the requirements of the new Condominium. The New Hebrides Order in Council 1922 made further changes to the way British law was enacted in the New Hebrides following the ratification of the Anglo-French Protocol (see PMB 438) which had strengthened the original convention of 1906. While subjecting them to the protocol, the 1922 Order in Council continued to preserve the powers of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific or the Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides (acting on behalf of the former) to make Queen's Regulations for persons under the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Western Pacific. These three orders (1893, 1907 and 1922) provided the foundations for subsequent Queen's Regulations and British laws for the New Hebrides, including these of 1971. Although only one volume (1971) is available here, these Queen's Regulations and British laws are significant as they include the banking and companies regulations which turned the New Hebrides into a tax haven or Offshore Finance Centre (OFC) in that year. The ability of British colonial authorities to legislate in and for the New Hebrides was terminated following the country's independence as the Republic of Vanuatu on 30 July 1980 and the assumption of full legislative powers by the country's new Parliament.

See reel list for more information.

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Available for reference

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Existence and location of originals

Supreme Court of Vanuatu, Private Mail Bag 041, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Existence and location of copies

Access this title at PMB Member Libraries or by contacting the Bureau directly: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/pambu/accessing.php

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Description identifier

doc446

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