Papua New Guinea
Customary law is a leading source
Compare Papua New Guinea with another country →
Papua New Guinea has a Constitution of 1975 that makes custom and English common law together the 'underlying law' of the country. Hundreds of local customs sit beside a court system modelled on the common law.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1975, the highest law
- Acts of Parliament, such as the Criminal Code, which comes from the Queensland model
- The 'underlying law': custom and English common law, applied where statutes are silent
- Decisions of the Supreme Court and the National Court
The main courts
- The Supreme Court, the final court
- The National Court
- District Courts, and Village Courts that apply custom
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree from a Papua New Guinean or overseas university, practical training, and admission by the Supreme Court.
What may surprise you
- The Constitution itself tells judges to develop a law that fits Papua New Guinea, using custom as well as the common law.
- Village Courts are staffed by local people, and apply custom.
- Most land is held under custom, not by individuals.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Papua New Guinea as: Customary, Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Papua New Guinea, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
