THE country needs an organised and systematic law reform process, according to chairman of the Solomon Islands Law Reform Commission Frank Paulsen.
He was speaking at the launch of the commission’s consultation paper on Homicide Offences, yesterday.
Mr Paulsen said at the moment, law reform is not being done in any organised, coherent or coordinated manner.
Rather, they were done on ad-hoc basis, he said.
“I say this because today a government ministry or institution can just go ahead and decide that a certain provision of the law needs to be amended to cater for some urgent situation,” Mr Paulsen said.
“This situation is usually questionable as for whose interests and benefit that exercise is being carried out.
“They simply go ahead and make recommendations to amend the law without seeking proper legal and technical advice, and usually without much in-depth research into the issues or likely issues,” he added.
Mr Paulsen said, in the past, most, if not all, of the law reform work that had been undertaken were done without any input from the Law Reform Commission.
“Such ad-hoc approach created a lot of problems for ourselves,” he said.
He added the welfare, interests, views, wishes, and aspirations of the people were not even considered during the process.
The consequences of such action, he said, are glaringly obvious.
“One such classic example is that Solomon Islanders have become mere spectators in their own land as far as participation in the economic development of their country is concerned.
“Our people have been sidelined, and sadly, reduced to street sellers, betel nut and market vendors due to the fact that the laws that are supposed to protect them and give them the opportunity to actively participate and enjoy the fruits of the economic development of this country are either out of date, or simply not there.”
But Mr Paulsen said, in spite of what had happened in the past, he strongly believe it’s not too late to act.
“Let’s move forward together and reform our laws in a systematic and organised manner, for the benefit of our people, and most importantly, our children, to ensure that they are better protected from all forms of violence and exploitation.
“It is our most fundamental duty as parents and responsible citizens to ensure that our children inherit a peaceful and prosperous country.
“And effective law reform that is well organised and coordinated would assist in a significant way to achieving that vision,” Mr Paulsen said.
He said the Law Reform Commission, as the body established through an act of parliament, should be consulted on every law reform exercise.
By SOLOMON LOFANA