The Judiciary of Kiribati is the branch of the Government of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

which interprets and applies the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

s 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

Magistrate courts

Some 24

Magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

, composed of Magistrates and a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

, deal with less-serious

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

, criminal, and land cases on a district basis. Magistrates courts are district courts of

summary jurisdiction Summary jurisdiction, in the widest sense of the phrase, in English law includes the power asserted by courts of record to deal ''brevi manu'' with contempts of court without the intervention of a jury. Probably the power was originally exercisable ...

and were formally established by the Magistrates Courts Ordinance of 1977. They are by default composed of 3 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 11 operating on the islands of

South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonrik ...

and

Kiritimati Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonolog ...

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 Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, and

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officia ...

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 The president of Kiribati ( gil, Beretitenti) is the head of state and head of government of Kiribati. Following a general election, by which citizens elect the members of the House of Assembly, members select from their midst "not less than 3 ...

on advice from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in consultation with the Public Service Commmission. 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 5 years are eligible to be appointed to the High Court.

Court of Appeal

Kiribati Court of Appeal The Kiribati Court of Appeal is the supreme court of Kiribati established according to the Constitution of Kiribati of 12 July 1979 (section 90). The Court sits in Betio, South Tarawa. Sometimes the superior court of Kiribati is also considered t ...

is established to hear 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 The House of Assembly (, ) is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fi ...

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 ex officio the

Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific The Chief Justice of the High Commissioner's Court, more commonly known as the Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific, was the chief judicial officer throughout the British Western Pacific Territories from 1877 through 1976. This was ...

including the Gilbert Islands (as Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony).

High Court of the Western Pacific (including the Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1962-1978)

Gilbert Islands (from 1978)

Kiribati (from 1979)

References

External links

Judiciary Kiribati - Te Bolaki Ni Kabowi
Courts in Kiribati Law of Kiribati {{Asia-law-stub