A judge in Vanuatu says custom or traditional payments in a criminal case cannot overrule the law of the land.
The judge Daniel Fatiaki made the ruling following an incest case in which he sentenced a church pastor to one year imprisonment suspended for three years, even though the pastor had paid a custom ceremony to say sorry for what happened.
Justice Fatiaki says often a custom ceremony addresses the community aspect of a crime to restore balance and order in the community, but a major weakness is that it sacrifices and ignores the concerns of the victim.
