Secrets to Cultural Identity; legal and institutional mechanisms to better support Torres Strait Islanders to maintain their cultural secrets

This thesis explores legal and institutional mechanisms that may better support Torres Strait Islanders to protect their cultural secrets. When Indigenous people lose control of cultural secrets they are also likely to lose cultural identity, autonomy and power to control their own lives. Australian law has largely proven ill-equipped to protect Indigenous cultural secrets. The author argues that Native Title law is poised to emerge as the leading contender, best-equipped to provide necessary legal protection, applying a regime which is neither an institution of the common law nor a form of common law tenure but nevertheless recognised by common law.

本论文探讨了可更好支持托雷斯海峡岛民（Torres Strait Islanders）保护其文化秘密的法律与制度机制。当原住民丧失对文化秘密的掌控权时，往往也会随之丧失文化身份、自主权利以及掌控自身生活的能力。现有澳大利亚法律在保护原住民文化秘密方面整体仍存在显著不足。作者主张，原住民土地权法（Native Title law）有望成为最具竞争力的候选方案，能够提供最为充分的必要法律保护；其所适用的规制体系既不属于普通法制度范畴，亦非普通法土地保有形式，却仍为普通法所承认。