e is strongly pervaded by this equitable premise. The employer is a kind of a father figure. When he takes you into his employment he undertakes to do all that is necessary for the well being of the employee.
It is a system that is lacking in details. Details are not spelt out. What are the reciprocal obligations of employer and employee? The Japanese system is very sparse in content.
That is basically the approach of the Japanese legal system which has a great deal in common in that regard with an indigenous legal system.
So, those are some of the ideas that I wanted to share with you in highlighting the essential features of the indigenous culture and indigenous law as compared with a contemporary approach to law and society. I think we need to be on our guard against the assumption that our system is superior. We know it all, they do not, and we have to be condescending in our desire to accommodate them.
Also we must recognise there are certain things in traditional custom and law which may defy our understanding. We may not be able to understand because our experience has been wholly different and we must be reluctant to reject what we are incapable of understanding.
So those are some of the thoughts that should be uppermost in our minds as we embark upon this year that is devoted to the rights of indigenous peoples and the preservation of their culture.
I understand that this is the first of a series of lectures that will address different aspects of the rights of the indigenous peoples. I think that this is a very timely initiative because much that is wrong with contemporary civilization can, I think, be rectified by injecting to our culture some of the elements that were so rich in indigenous civilizations. Therefore there is no better time than this to embark upon this endeavour.
And may I, in conclusion, thank you very much for your invitation to me to share my thoughts with you this evening. I have been greatly privileged to be here with you and I thank you for that opportunity.
Case Study: The Plight of Sri Lanka's Wanniya-laeto
|Living Heritage Trust ©2018 All Rights Reserved|