Culture and Competitive Resource Regulation: A Liberal Economic Alternative to Sui Generis Aboriginal Rights

The recognition of Aboriginal rights as sui generis is unique in its basis on a combination of past, culture, and place. This article maintains that the sui generis basis for Aboriginal rights has limited tangible improvements to Aboriginal quality of life, while commentators have also pointed to a number of difficulties with the justifications offered for sui generis rights. The present article proposes a theory of regulatory diversity that promises greater Aboriginal self-determination over regional resources and is both more conducive to development and justifiable on liberal grounds.