Kiribati is embroiled in a constitutional crisis after the government on Thursday suspended its chief justice, leaving the judiciary in disarray as experts raise concerns about the rule of law.
The move escalates an ongoing controversy over separation of powers in the Pacific nation, after Kiribati’s only other high court justice, Australian David Lambourne, was suspended in May.
On Thursday, New Zealand judge William Hastings was due to begin hearing a legal challenge brought by Lambourne. The suspended judge was seeking initial orders restoring his salary and facilitating his return to the country ahead of a constitutional challenge to the suspension.
Yet rather than commence the hearing, Hastings read out a letter from the government stating that he too had been suspended with immediate effect pursuant to the Kiribati constitution.
The remarkable development was first reported by the Kiribati Newsroom.
The stated reason for the suspensions of Hastings and Lambourne are allegations of misbehavior, with a tribunal established to investigate.
However, the substance of the allegations have not been made public, leaving observers concerned about the veracity of the claims.
Lambourne has engaged lawyer Kiata Kabure in Kiribati and leading Australian barristers Perry Herzfeld and Daniel Reynolds to represent him in the case.
“The protracted dispute between judges and the executive clearly raises concerns for judicial independence,” said Anna Dziedzic, an expert on Pacific judiciaries at Melbourne Law School.
Kiribati Newsroom — a digital newspaper published by local journalist Rimon Rimon — said that the “ongoing saga” raised concerns “about the status of the rule of law in Kiribati and the independence of the judiciary to carry out its function.”
With the pair suspended, the Kiribati high court is effectively judge-less and unable to hear cases.
Late last year, the Guardian Australia reported that Lambourne, formerly the nation’s solicitor general, and husband to opposition leader Tessie Lambourne, had succeeded in a constitutional claim against the Kiribati government.
David Lambourne was stuck in Australia after COVID-19 hit and the government had refused to allow him to return home, stopping his salary, refusing to issue a work permit and undermining his tenure of appointment.
Hastings, at the time newly appointed on secondment from the New Zealand district court, found that the government’s actions were unconstitutional and ordered it to facilitate David Lambourne’s return.
An appeal by the Kiribati government is due to be heard by the court of appeal, a body consisting of three retired New Zealand judges, later this month.
In May, the government escalated the crisis when it suspended David Lambourne over “complaints and allegations from the public for his inability to perform functions of his office and his misbehavior.”
The complaint, made by members of the ruling party, Tobwaan Kiribati Party, was forwarded to the government by Betero Atanibora, a member of parliament and chair of the Tobwaan party.
The complaint alleges that Lambourne was slow in determining cases, including one high-profile case involving the government.
Another ground of complaint involves David Lambourne’s earlier constitutional challenge.
“We disagree with David Lambourne’s undertaking when he sued the government for terminating his appointment,” the complaint said. “Even though the high court found in his favor, we still consider this as unjust.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese