The Judiciary of Kiribati is the branch of the Government of Kiribati which interprets and applies the laws of the country. In addition to the Constitution of Kiribati and the corpus of laws, the laws of Kiribati include customary law, which the courts must take into account when considering specified matters in criminal and civil proceedings.

Courts Magistrates' courts Twenty-four magistrates' courts, composed of magistrates and a clerk, deal with less-serious civil, criminal, and land cases on a district basis. Magistrates courts are district courts of summary jurisdiction and were formally established by the Magistrates Courts Ordinance of 1977. They are by default composed of three magistrates appointed by the Minister of Justice on recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court, however, the Chief Justice may establish single magistrate units of which there are currently eleven operating on the islands of South Tarawa and Kiritimati.

High Court The High Court hears more serious civil and criminal cases appealed to it by the magistrates' courts. It along with the Court of Appeal is constitutionally established as Kiribati's superior court of record. Appeals relating to land, divorce, and inheritance are dealt with by the High Court's Land Division. Prior to 2014 there was only the one High Court judge, but in that year a second puisne judge was appointed. The Chief Justice of Kiribati is the Head of the Judiciary in Kiribati and is appointed by the President of Kiribati on advice from the Cabinet in consultation with the Public Service Commission. Additional judges are appointed by the president on advice from the Chief Justice in consultation with the Public Service Commission. Only a person who has held office as a judge (in any country) or who has been qualified to practice law for at least five years are eligible to be appointed to the High Court.

Court of Appeal The Kiribati Court of Appeal hears appeals from the High Court. The court is composed of the Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court, and other such justices appointed by the president on advice of the Chief Justice of the High Court sitting with the Public Service Commission. Judges appointed to the court in addition to the High Court judges may sit on the Court of Appeal for a specified term or for particular causes or matters. The president chooses which judge shall sit as President of the Court of Appeals. A Court of Appeal judge may not sit for an appeal for a case in which they gave a decision on any court on which they were a member.

Judges may only be removed if they are unable to carry out the functions of the office, or for "misbehavior" as decided by the president on resolution by the Maneaba ni Maungatabu after advice from a tribunal appointed by the president, one of whose members must be a person who has held "high judicial office".

Chief Justices From 1877 to 1962, the Chief Justice of Fiji was the Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific including the Gilbert Islands (as Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony).

#IncumbentPortraitTenureHead of StateNotesTook officeLeft officeChief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific and Chief Justice of Fiji (1877–1962) 1. Sir John GorrieCooper, Charles Alfred (1896) An editor's retrospect; fifty years of newspaper work p. 147 1877 1882 Victoria Sir Fielding Clarke 1882 1882 Victoria 2. Sir Henry WrenfordsleyBennett, John Michael. Sir Henry Wrenfordsley: Second Chief Justice of Western Australia, 1880–1883 1882 1885 Victoria Sir Fielding Clarke 1884 1885 Victoria 3. Sir Fielding Clarke 1885 1889 Victoria 4. Sir Henry BerkeleyKnighthood for Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific Knighthood for Berkeley'The Times' 2 October 1918: 30 September 1918, death of Sir Henry Spencer Berkeley, 3rd son of Thomas Berkeley Hardtman-BerkeleyDictionary of Australasian Biography 1889 1902 VictoriaEdward VII 5. Sir Charles MajorReplaced Berkeley in 1902 The Otago Witness, 13 August 1902Knighted June 1911, still CJ, W. PacificSir Charles Major biog. Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner for the W. Pacific 1902–14 (maybe 1902-11) and M.E.C.(possibly HC=High Commissioner) of Fiji 1905–14Announcement as CJ, British Guiana The Edinburgh Gazette, 29 September, 1914This source says that Albert Ehrhardt, the Attorney-General, was acting as JCWP in October 1910 (p.148) and that Charles Major "had returned to his substantive position as JCWP" by August 1911 (p.153) 1902 1914 Edward VIIGeorge V Albert EhrhardtEhrhardt was also Attorney General 1903–1914; acting for Major while Major was Acting High Commissioner (1910–1911). 1910 21 February 1911 Edward VIIGeorge V Ehrhardt, the then Attorney-General of Fiji, acted as Chief Judicial Commissioner while Major, the incumbent Chief Judicial Commissioner, was acting as High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. 6. Sir Charles Davson(1857–1933) Charles Davson: called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1881. Joined the Bar of British Guiana in 1882. Solicitor General, 1898. Appointed Puisne Judge of Mauritius in 1905; Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner for Western Pacific in 1914. Knighted 1917. 1914 1922 George V Sir Kenneth Muir MacKenzieHis surname was Muir Mackenzie 1922 1923 George V 7. Sir Alfred Young, KC 1923 1929 George V 8. Sir Maxwell Anderson, CBE, KC, RN (retd.) 1929 1936 George VEdward VIII 9. Sir Owen Corrie, MCHe was appointed Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Tuesday 25 February 1936 Corrie 1936 1945 Edward VIIIGeorge VI 10. Sir Claud Seton, MCBy May 1950 Seton was chairing a judicial inquiry in Kenya Kenya Gazette, 9 May 1950 1945 22 November 1949 George V 11. Sir James Thomson 1949 1953 George VIElizabeth II 12. Sir Ragnar HyneCJ Tonga & Solomon Islands, a Judicial Commissioner 1930 Burra Record 18 June 1930Knighted 1956 London Gazette 10 February 1956 p. 825V. brief biog. His father's surname was Hein.Picture of Hyne in judge's wig & robe 1953 1958 Elizabeth II 13. Sir Albert LoweChristie's sale of medals with biog. 1958 1962 Elizabeth IIChief Justice of the High Court of the Western Pacific (1962–1976) 14. Sir Geoffrey BriggsApril 1962. The QUEEN has been pleased to give directions for the appointment of Geoffrey Gould Briggs, Esq., Puisne Judge, Unified Judiciary of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei, to be Chief Justice designate to the High Court of the Western Pacific. 1962 1965 Elizabeth II

15. Sir Jocelyn Bodilly19651976

Gilbert Islands (from 1978) Name Took office Left office Notes James Aiden O'Brien Quinn19771979 The International Who's Who 2004

Kiribati (from 1979) Name Took office Left office Notes James Aiden O'Brien Quinn19791981 Jeffrey R. Jones19811985 Vincent Oluoma Maxwell19851990 Faqir Muhammad19901995 Stanley Cory1995 1995 Acting Richard Lussick19952000 Robin Rhodes Millhouse2000 2011 Also Chief Justice of Nauru 2006–2010 Sir John Baptist Muria20112020 Bill Hastings2021IncumbentSuspended since 30 June 2022 (see 2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis) Tetiro Semilota2022Acting

References

Sources

External links Judiciary Kiribati official website