How much does Australian Contempary Law accept Aboriginal Customary Law?
...esult, since 1986, Australian legislators have tried their best to incorporate customary practices with the contemporary Australian law on the basis that it is important to realize that traditional Aboriginal laws are exactly that theirs - they are older than ours, and have been around Australia much longer, serving the Aboriginals well. Australia recognizes some of the Aboriginal customary Criminal Punishment laws. An Aboriginal person will often listen to, and respect the fact, that they have done wrong if they are told by one of the elders from their own tribes; rather then sentenced by a white judge. Some of the punishments will lead to mediation and conciliation; others can involve a punishment including injury or death to the Aboriginal. One of these recognized cases was the Williams (1976) incident. Sydney Williams was accused and found guilty of killing his wife. In Williams’ defense he claimed that she had found out some of the secret tribal laws and had told others. The judge passed his sentence on to his tribe to deal with this in a traditional fashion. A lot of white Australians see this as unjust; as if he wasn’t an Aboriginal he would have been sentenced to jail for murder like any other Australian citizen would had he done the same sort of crime. Australian law doesn’t accept Aboriginal marriage as there is no legal documentation or ceremony declaring their marriage valid. When an Aboriginal ‘marries’ another Aboriginal they move into a house together; this form of a mar...