Every published case hub, across all collections. Collections are navigation groupings, not legal categories; one case can appear in several but has one page.
21 published cases matching Oceania and the Pacific.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the 1963 Yolngu Bark Petitions and 1966 Gurindji walk-off, through the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy, to the 2017 Uluru Statement and its 2023 referendum defeat — distinct nations and movements, none framed as secession.
Political status and decolonisation
The Fitisemanu v. United States litigation over birthright citizenship, opposed by American Samoa's own territorial government to protect its traditional land-tenure and matai political system.
Independence movements
Bougainville’s path from secessionist politics and a civil war to a peace agreement, autonomy and the 2019 independence referendum, whose ratification by Papua New Guinea’s parliament is still pending.
Independence movements
From the CPSC's 2014 independence recommendation, through the referendum's repeated postponements (2015, 2019, 2022), to the CPSC's reported 2022 end with no referendum held.
Political status and decolonisation
From the 1964-1965 establishment of free association with New Zealand, through the December 2024 citizenship/UN clarification, to the 2025 China-agreement tensions and their resolution.
Historical independence
The 1980 "Coconut War": Jimmy Stevens' declaration of the "State of Vemerana" and its defeat by Papua New Guinean intervention days before Vanuatu's own independence.
Political status and decolonisation
From the three proposed status options and the non-binding 1982 plebiscite, to the Davis v. Guam ruling that permanently enjoined the planned race-restricted status plebiscite.
Independence movements
From the 1998 Nouméa Accord's three referendums, through the disputed 2021 vote and the deadly May 2024 riots, to the July 2025 Bougival Accord and its April 2026 collapse.
Independence movements
From the 1966-1996 nuclear testing programme and the 2013 UN re-inscription, to the 2023 Tavini Huiraatira election victory and differing views on independence within the movement.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the Treaty of Waitangi's guarantee of tino rangatiratanga, through the Waitangi Tribunal's unceded-sovereignty finding, to the 2024-2025 Treaty Principles Bill controversy and its defeat.
Political status and decolonisation
The 1974 referendum and Constitution Act establishing Niue's free-association status with New Zealand, a stable arrangement with no documented independence movement.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the 1979 Norfolk Island Act establishing limited self-government, through its 2015 abolition, to the NIPD's ongoing campaign for restoration and UN Non-Self-Governing Territory listing.
Historical independence
Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia on 16 September 1975, following administration first under a League of Nations mandate and then a UN Trusteeship Agreement over the Territory of New Guinea, and UN admission that October.
Political status and decolonisation
The Pitcairn Islands' 2010 constitution and its small, Bounty-mutineer-descended population, documented as constitutional research rather than an independence movement.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the 1888 Agreement of Wills annexation, through the broader movement's focus on autonomy and reparations, to the minority Rapa Nui Parliament's pursuit of independence via the UN.
Historical independence
The bounded 1987-1988 Republic of Rotuma episode, ended by sedition trials, and the subsequent decline of separate-independence interest under continued Rotuma Council governance.
Historical independence
Western Samoa's independence from New Zealand on 1 January 1962, the first Pacific island state to do so, and its UN admission nearly fifteen years later in 1976.
Historical independence
The 1980 "Tafea Nation" secession attempt centred on Tanna and neighbouring islands, distinct from the Espiritu Santo/Vemerana episode, ended by British intervention and Vanuatu's independence.
Political status and decolonisation
From New Zealand administration beginning 1926, through two UN-supervised free-association referendums (2006, 2007), both falling short of the required two-thirds threshold.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the 1936 maritime strike and the 1992 Mabo ruling, through the 1994 TSRA and 1985 Torres Strait Treaty, to Getano Lui Jnr's unofficial "Free Nation" proposal and post-2023 autonomy calls.
Historical independence
The New Hebrides' independence from joint Anglo-French rule as the Republic of Vanuatu on 30 July 1980, and UN admission the following year.