Legal Traditions and Indigenous Knowledge

Dominant Western legal systems have failed to protect Indigenous cultures and knowledges. This keynote presentation explores examples of this failure from both the international human rights regime and domestic law in Australia.

It then argues that principles inherent within Indigenous cultures and knowledges can assist in completely transforming the values of dominant Western legal cultures.

The engagement with dominant systems, particularly the international human rights regime poses some opportunities and challenges for Indigenous peoples and this keynote presentation will conclude with an exploration of some of these issues.