ABSTRACT
At one time, there was a very marked similarity in the format and style of some constitutions of the region by virtue of the fact that they originated from the same source. The independence and pre-independence constitutions of Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu were very similar in that they had been drafted by officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government and enacted by the British Privy Council. The current Constitutions providing for the self-governing status of the Cook Islands and Niue also had similarities of structure and style because they were drafted by persons commissioned by the External Affairs department of the New Zealand Government, and enacted by the New Zealand Parliament. This degree of similarity was broken both when the legislatures of Fiji Islands and Tuvalu repealed their Constitutions and replaced them with constitutions drafted by persons commissioned for the purpose, and when the Constitution of Cook Islands was substantially amended by the Parliament of that country. There is still a degree of similarity in format and structure of the constitutions of the region, but not as great as before.
