A/HRC/15/35 administering indigenous laws and addressing disputes. Indigenous legal systems are often based on the principles of collective indemnity and communal solidarity. Fines and compensations are regularly decided upon and meted out to provide wrongdoers with an opportunity to ask forgiveness from the aggrieved party and the whole community. 56. Indigenous law can be seen as having two components: personal law and territorial law. Personal law includes aspects related to the family, social, cultural, language, spiritual, and traditional economy and property, while territorial law refers to lands, natural resources and subsurface resources, but also has a social dimension. Indigenous law applies to persons as individuals, as well as to persons in a community.38 57. Indigenous legal systems are also linked to indigenous institutions and participatory decision-making processes. Equal opportunities are given to all parties to be heard by the village chief or leader. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, it can go through a general meeting that includes all members of the community. Such systems usually also allow for intercommunity dispute resolutions, as well as with non-indigenous persons. Indigenous justice systems are seldom adversarial. Adjudicators do not seek to identify and punish the defaulter (unless deemed necessary), but to reconcile the disputing parties with each other and the rest of society. 58. Often, however, more than one legal system exists in a State, and indigenous peoples face enormous problems in maintaining their traditional legal systems. The main challenge is the non-acceptance of legal pluralism, including the failure of mainstream legal authorities to respect the rulings of indigenous chiefs, elders or councils when administering indigenous laws and other disputes, or the failure to recognize such decisions as judicial acts. Other obstacles include limited administrative and financial support by States; the lack of opportunities to enable traditional leaders to update indigenous laws; and the lack of respect for indigenous legal systems by other legal systems. 59. Even in States where legal pluralism is applied, one often sees that the State only recognizes indigenous law in relation to “soft” matters such as social, family and cultural issues, but not in relation to “harder” issues, such as lands, territories and resources. E. The role of indigenous women in decision-making 60. Generally, indigenous women are not part of official decision-making authorities, although they may participate in all deliberations on an equal footing with men. It is important to note that indigenous women have not always been excluded from decisionmaking, and traditionally played, and may still play, a significant role. For example, in North America prior to colonization, women played a much more prominent role in decision-making, but the recognition of male roles by colonizers contributed to a perception of male dominance that was subsequently perpetuated. Among the Kadazan in Malaysia, for instance, the bobohizan or priestess played an active part in the council of elders39 and women still play significant leadership roles in the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, particularly conservation, language, culture, spirituality and social relations. 61. Some indigenous laws may also be seen as being unfair to women, whereas the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes that laws and practices must be made compatible with internationally recognized human rights standards. Indigenous women now demand representation and ask for customary processes to be reformed, lobbying their traditional institutions to include women representatives at various levels of 38 39 Submission by AIPP. Submission by JOAS (Malaysia). 15