Pacific island nations are using the legal systems of their former suzerain powers in conjunction with traditional customs as they engage in nation building. Putting in place their own legal systems and educating the public about them are important to the peace and stability of these relatively new states.
Through this project the University of the South Pacific (USP), which has been offering distance education to Pacific islanders, aims to provide high quality educational materials and interactive classes for students in outlying areas who are enrolled in the School of Law. This year the USP School of Law (website: www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj) developed 16 new online subjects, adapting the materials used so far, and provided links to the website Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute, a collection of cases, and other databases. A project manager and two technicians were employed to develop Internet courses, and the website was progressively updated. In fiscal 2002, a system for online discussion is to be set up.