EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Unpacking Fragile Access to Justice in a Small Island State Amidst Global Pandemic: Narratives from Experiences of Niue, the Rock of Polynesia

Takahashi Mana ()
Additional contact information
Takahashi Mana: 12901 Faculty of Global Liberal Arts, Kanda University of International Studies , Chiba, Japan

The Law and Development Review, 2025, vol. 18, issue 2, 429-460

Abstract: This study considers the challenges and features of law and development faced by small island developing states (SIDS) during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This research analyzes the pre- and post-pandemic situation of access to justice in SIDS to clarify the transformation of society and the critical impact of the pandemic and to consider potential negative effects and revealed features of fragile justice in small island states. In this context, this research focuses on the case study of Niue, which is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand since 1974 and is recognized as a small island developing state by the United Nations. Niue, known as “the Rock of Polynesia,” is home to approximately 1900 people and consists of a single isolated island of only 261 square kilometers. The principal research question to be addressed is as follows: What did the COVID-19 pandemic reveal in Niue as a challenge in the context of law and development? By exploring the current situation of access to justice among people in Niue and based on interview responses with local people, government officers, and legal practitioners, this research aims to provide policy suggestions for initiatives and assistance to guarantee the right of access to justice in Niue.

Keywords: access to justice; Niue; small island developing states (SIDS); COVID-19 global pandemic; sociolegal approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2024-0038 (text/html)
For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:lawdev:v:18:y:2025:i:2:p:429-460:n:1008

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.degruyte ... journal/key/ldr/html

DOI: 10.1515/ldr-2024-0038

Access Statistics for this article

The Law and Development Review is currently edited by Yong-Shik Lee

More articles in The Law and Development Review from De Gruyter
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().

 
Page updated 2025-07-15
Handle: RePEc:bpj:lawdev:v:18:y:2025:i:2:p:429-460:n:1008