Patterns of external influence in making and interpreting three Pacific constitutions

Written constitutions have a long history in the Pacific region. They are often described as foreign imports, designed by external actors and superimposed over Indigenous systems of governance. This article reassesses such assumptions of external influence. Focusing on the constitutions of Tonga (1875), Samoa (1960) and Tuvalu (1986), the article identifies a recurring pattern in constitution making, in which Pacific polities borrowed the language of written constitutions to present an external face to signal independence, self-government and sovereignty to the world beyond. One result of this strategy is that written constitutions deal only partially with continuing Indigenous forms of governance. This presents challenges for the interpretation of Pacific constitutions. Judges in each of the three countries have referred to historical narratives of constitution making and come to different views about the relationship between written constitutions and Indigenous custom. Seeing what is often assumed to be a manifestation of external influence as, in part, the external face of the constitution warrants an approach to constitutional interpretation that leaves space for unwritten customary constitutional institutions, practices and values.