Related Aricles UNDRIP PROVISIONS RELATED TO CUSTOMARY LAW

RIGHTS AIPP AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP • The main body of customary law is sup- pressed or supplanted by state law. While parts of it may be selectively assimilated by state law, the rest gradually atrophies, marginalized by suppression or disuse. • The main body of customary law de- velops into its own expanded set of state laws, usually in the context of a new state created through a revolutionary process. Meanwhile, customary laws as prac- tised by specific indigenous peoples con- tinue to evolve in their own right, as they try to adapt to various internal pressures including the impact of the market econ- omy, state operations, and diffusion of for- eign lifeways into the indigenous. The direction of change may be in the form of written in lieu of traditional oral forms; adoption of general standards if not outright codification; substantial or procedural adjustments in order to adapt to changing community norms, or to conform with specific national or international laws; or, on the other hand, revival of a dead or dying customary law because it answers a new need.

B. Laws and Policies Related to the Recogniion of the Right

The following are provided as examples of positive laws that recognize, in varying degrees, the existence and practice of customary law among indigenous peoples in specific countries and areas. EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE STATE LAWS ON RESPECT FOR CUSTOMARY LAW INDIA • Constitutional provisions regarding Nagaland article 371a, Manipur 371c, Mizoram 371g • 6th Schedule Autonomous District and Regional Councils • India’s Federal Law “Panchayati Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas Act” of 1996 • State-level laws in India such as Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908, Santal Parganas Tenancy Supplementary Provision Act 1949 MALAYSIA • Constitutional provisions in Malaysia: articles 151, 1532, 161a, 161b, 161e • Constitution of Sabah: article 41 In various countries of Asia, there are laws and policies that positively recognize customary rights, for example, over forest resources, subsurface resources, water sources, family law, etc. In some cases, the positive law may not be an independent and separate law particularly high- lighting customary rights. Instead, the recognition could be a small section or even a single but important provision of a general law on land, or resources, or some other subject. In the case of 58 Module-3 Ofering tokens of peace, resoluion of Basao-Tonglayan dispute in 2006 Cordillera, Philippines. Photo by Mar- lon Gomarcho