Chapter Ten: Tony Krone,Corruption and the Rule of Law: A Case Study of Solomon Islands
This chapter highlights the limitations of the formal justice system when there is a gross inequality of bargaining power. The colonial dispossession of land and resources pose particular problems for indigenous peoples, including those in the developing nations of the Pacific where corruption may be endemic.
Tony Krone analyses a number of cases of official corruption dealt with through the formal justice system, only one of which resulted in a successful prosecution. Cases brought against ministers for changing their allegiance also failed. While critics might argue that there should have been more prosecutions, a corrupt process frustrates the realisation of substantive justice.The struggle for justice by indigenous peoples in the Pacific could go on for years and, even then, there is no guarantee of a just outcome within a formal court system. The struggle is also being conducted concurrently within traditional law and legal structures with no greater prospect of success. Nevertheless, the fact that academics such as Tony Krone are writing about the corruption and exposing it to the scrutiny of the international community might itself be understood as a performative step towards the realisation of justice for the indigenous peoples of the Pacific.