Wallis and Futuna

• The Statute of 1961 and the Organic Law, which set out the status of the territory
• French law, in the matters it applies to the territory
• Customary law of the three traditional chiefdoms, especially for land and family

• The Court of Cassation in Paris, the final court for ordinary cases
• The Court of Appeal of Nouméa
• The Court of First Instance at Mata-Utu, and customary councils for local disputes

A French law degree and the French bar course. Few lawyers live in the territory.

• Three traditional kingdoms, each with a king and a council, have official recognition.
• The Catholic mission has had a strong role in the islands' social life.
• Local custom governs many land and family matters, alongside French law.

France, New Caledonia, French Polynesia

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Wallis and Futuna as: Civil 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.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.