Supreme Court of Vanuatu is the
superior court of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
and is based in Port Vila. The Court consists of the Chief Justice and three puisne judges.
Appeals from the Supreme Court are heard by the
Court of Appeal of Vanuatu, which is the supreme appellate court in the country. The Court of Appeal is constituted from time to time as the need arises.
With the exception of the Chief Justice, all members of the judiciary are appointed by the
President of Vanuatu
The president of Vanuatu (french: Président du Vanuatu) is the head of state of Vanuatu. The president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils.
The preside ...
, who acts on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, pursuant to Article 47(2) of the
Constitution of Vanuatu). The Chief Justice is appointed by the President after consultation with the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and the Leader of the Opposition, pursuant to Article 49(3) of the Constitution.
[ ]
The present Chief Justice of the Court is
Vincent Lunabek.
Chief Justices
Chief Justices of the Court have included:
* Frederick Cooke (1980–90)
* Edwin Goldsborough (acting) (1991)
* Charles Vaudin d'Imecourt (1992–98)
* Vincent Lunabek (acting) (1997–2000)
*
Vincent Lunabek (2001–)
In 1997, Chief Justice Vaudin d'Imecourt was not allowed in the country, leading to the case of ''Vaudin d'Imecourt v Manatawai''
997
Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...
VUSC 53.
Puisne judges
The Court has had the following past and present puisne judges:
* Serge Braudo (1980)
* J.R. Jones (1983)
* L. Cazendres (1983–85)
* W Kattan (1983)
* Williams (1985–86)
* Coakley (1986–87)
* Amet (1986)
* Gordon Ward (1988–91)
* Edwin Goldsborough (1988–92)
*
Peter Heerey (1992)
* Beaumont (1993)
*
John von Doussa
John William von Doussa (born 17 September 1940) is a former Australian judge and public servant. He was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 1988 to 2003, president of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission from 2003 to 2 ...
(1993, 1998–99, 2003)
* Rowan Downing (1993–95)
*
Harry Gibbs
Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs, (7 February 191725 June 2005) was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981. He was known as one of Australia's leading federalist ...
(1994)
* Robert Kent (1994–95)
* Salatiel Lenalia (1995)
* Vincent Lunabek (1996–2000) (appointed Chief Justice 2001)
* Thorp (1996)
* Kalkot Mataskelekele (1996–98)
*
Oliver Saksak (1997–2006)
* Regget Marum MBE (1997–2002)
* Tompkins (1998)
* Muria (1999)
* Roger Coventry (2000–03)
* DJ Carruthers (2003)
* Robertson (2003)
* Fatiaki (2003)
* Coventry (2003)
* PI Treston (2003–06)
* Hamlison Bulu (2003–06)
* Christpher Tuohy (2006–2008)
* Nevin Dawson (2008-2010)
* Robert Spear (2011-2013)
* Stephen Harrop (2014-2015)
* Paul Geoghegan (2016-2017)
* Gus Andre Wiltons (2018-2022
*
Viran Molisa Trief (2019–)
References
{{law-stub
Judiciary of Vanuatu
Government of Vanuatu