Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea 1975, as amended to 2016
Marriage and Family Life
  • English
    (1) INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
    We declare our first goal to be for every person to be dynamically involved in the process of freeing himself from every form of domination or oppression so that each man or woman will have the opportunity to develop as a whole person in relationship with others.
    WE ACCORDINGLY CALL FOR-

    (5) the family unit to be recognized as the fundamental basis of our society, and for every step to be taken to promote the moral, cultural, economic and social standing of the Melanesian family;

    (2) EQUALITY AND PARTICIPATION.
    We declare our second goal to be for all citizens to have an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the development of our country.
    WE ACCORDINGLY CALL FOR-

    (12) recognition of the principles that a complete relationship in marriage rests on equality of rights and duties of the partners, and that responsible parenthood is based on that equality.
    … (Preamble, National Goals and Directive Principles)
Marriage and Family Life
  • English
    WE HEREBY DECLARE that all persons in our country have the following basic obligations to themselves and their descendants, to each other, and to the Nation:-

    (h) in the case of parents, to support, assist and educate their children (whether born in or out of wedlock), and in particular to give them a true understanding of their basic rights and obligations and of the National Goals and Directive Principles;
    (i) in the case of the children, to respect their parents.
    … (Preamble, Basic Social Obligations)
Marriage and Family Life
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    (1) Freedom based on law consists in the least amount of restriction on the activities of individuals that is consistent with the maintenance and development of Papua New Guinea and of society in accordance with this Constitution and, in particular, with the National Goals and Directive Principles and the Basic Social Obligations.
    (2) Every person has the right to freedom based on law, and accordingly has a legal right to do any thing that-
    (a) does not injure or interfere with the rights and freedoms of others; and
    (b) is not prohibited by law,
    and no person-
    (c) is obliged to do anything that is not required by law; and
    (d) may be prevented from doing anything that complies with the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b).
    (3) This section is not intended to reflect on the extra-legal existence, nature or effect of social, civic, family or religious obligations, or other obligations of an extra-legal nature, or to prevent such obligations being given effect to by law. (Sec. 32)
Marriage and Family Life
  • English
    (1) Every person has a right to reasonable privacy in respect of his private and family life, his communications with other persons and his personal papers and effects, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by law that complies with Section 38 (general qualifications on qualified rights).
    … (Sec. 49)
Marriage and Family Life
  • English

    (2) The functions and powers available to the Bougainville Government in and in relation to Bougainville are the following:-

    (p) family law;
    … (Sec. 290)
Links to all sites last visited 1 March 2024
2
Section 65 on Automatic Citizenship on Independence Day, Section 66 on Citizenship by Descent and Marriage, Section 67 on Citizenship by Naturalization.
3

Section 64 on Dual Citizenship.

4
Division 3 on Basic Rights.
5

Division 3 on Basic Rights.

6

Division 3 on Basic Rights.

7

Division 3 on Basic Rights.

8
Subdivision C on Qualified Rights.