The Treaty Commission has no power to investigate, make conclusions, or submit recommendations but is a facilitative agency whose duty is to keep negotiations organised and whose power is primarily persuasive. The author, therefore, concludes that it is merely one step that might help make the difference in the resolution of the native land question. The common law precedents cited in Mabo reveal the common law's long established capacity to recognise pluralism. This paper examines the right of self-determination with particular focus upon the native Americans of the United States of America. Power Imbalance Between Aboriginal Claimants and Governments by Andrea Gaye McCallum.
Aboriginal claims provide many challenges in the context of dispute resolution.
Disputes between different cultures are difficult to resolve, particularly when, as with Aboriginal claims, both cultures exist within the same geo-political nation, and one culture is more powerful than the other. This article focuses on the manner in which negotiation has been, or may be, employed to resolve Aboriginal claims. The process of negotiation is analysed and assessed in terms of the extent to which it facilitates cultural domination, and reinforces power imbalance between the parties. The author concludes by suggesting various means by which the negotiation process may be improved to resolve some of these issues and to redress elements of the power imbalance between the parties. The Impact of the Doctrine of Cultural Relativism on the Australian Legal System by Sam Garkawe.