Prof Dawson, of the university Law Faculty, has helped to organise a Pacific and Maori Legal Issues Conference which starts at 1pm today at the Moot Court on the 10th floor of the university's Richardson Building.
The two-day conference, which is free and open to the public, features an academic exchange between seven staff members and law students from the University of the South Pacific (USP) School of Law, which is based in Vanuatu, and the Otago University Law Faculty.
Prof Dawson said potential commercial investors in Fiji could be deterred if the absence of an independent judiciary raised doubts about the security of contracts and the protection of commercial law.
Worsening economic problems in Fiji could also reduce funding for the USP.
The Dunedin law conference and academic exchange had been supported by the New Zealand Government, with a $10,000 grant from the Pacific Co-operation Foundation.
This followed a trip last year by an Otago Law Faculty delegation to the USP Law School.
Prof Dawson said the academic exchange showed tangible support from the university and the New Zealand Government for the rule of law in the Pacific, and it was intended to continue the exchanges.
The conference runs until 4.30pm today and continues from 10.30am to 3pm tomorrow.
Senior Otago law students will present research on Maori legal issues, and Samoan-born Judge Semi Epati, who sits in the District Court at Manukau, will also speak.
Visiting students will take part in a moot (mock trial) between the two law schools, at the same venue from 5pm to 7 pm on Monday.
