The Judiciary of

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

formally consists of the Commissioner’s Court and Appeal Committee of each village, the High Court and the Court of Appeal. In practice, however, no dispute from Tokelau has ever been litigated outside Tokelau. There has been a strong community feeling that disputes are matters for the community and the community alone. This has meant that, to date, community thinking has been opposed to any thought of having a case decided in another village, let alone outside Tokelau."United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: New Zealand draft periodic report 6"
sections 210-213,

New Zealand Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice ( mi, Te Tāhū o te Ture) is an executive department of the New Zealand Government, responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice within New Zealand. It provides advice and support to a numb ...

, 2015.

Jurisdiction

Village Councils

Village Councils have civil and criminal jurisdiction for matters within their island and territorial sea and consist of a Commissioner and a Court Clerk. Councils may only hear civil claims up to $1000 and criminal cases punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a period of at most one year. Despite this, the maximum term of imprisonment which a Commissioner can impose is three months, and the maximum fine that can be imposed is $150. Other penalties which can be imposed include

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

reprimand A reprimand is a severe, formal or official reproof. Reprimanding takes in different forms in different legal systems. A reprimand in custody may be a formal legal action issued by a government agency or professional governing board (e.g. medical ...

, police supervision and compensation for loss of property."Tokelau Courts System Information"

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...

, 2001.

Appeal Committee

The Appeal Committees of each island comprise a maximum of three members and have the jurisdiction to hear appeals of decisions made by the Village Councils.

Higher courts

Major criminal or civil matters, as well as appeals, can be dealt with by the

High Court of New Zealand The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...

acting as the High Court of Tokelau, followed by the

Court of Appeal of New Zealand The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

, acting as the Court of Appeal of Tokelau. In addition, despite having been abolished in other Commonwealth nations such as Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the right of appeal to the Privy Council still theoretically exists for Tokelauan disputes."Tokelau Judicial Annual Report 2012 - 2013"
Office of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau.

Practical operation

Currently, the judges of Tokelau are the Law Commissioners of each island. These are lay officers who perform their duties with the village councils in the context of the village structures and local tradition. In the fulfilment of their roles, Commissioners typically are informed more by

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

than

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

, although, the ''Crimes, Procedure and Evidence Rules 2003'' have, where possible, incorporated these customs. The Commissioners are concerned primarily with

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

s of a minor nature and, in cooperation with the local

police officers A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, deal with offenders by way of

, sentences of

fines Fines may refer to: * Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality * Fine (penalty) * Fine, a dated term for a premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term *Fines, ore or other products with a s ...

. There are no prisons in Tokelau, but when someone is sentenced to imprisonment for a minor crime, they are required to help police in their duties."Death may be first Tokelau murder"
Michael Field,

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

, 13 January 2013.

Legal representation

The requirement of the availability of

defence counsel In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a s ...

, at public cost if necessary, presents practical problems for a community of Tokelau’s type, given its small population and physical isolation. However, there is provision in Rule 94 of the ''Crimes, Procedure and Evidence Rules'' for the grant of legal aid, taking into account the means of the applicant and the nature of the case. Under Rule 95 of the ''Crimes, Procedure and Evidence Rules'' the prior written approval of the Council for Ongoing Government is required in order to be able to practise law in Tokelau or before a court of Tokelau. To date, three New Zealand qualified

lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

have been admitted to practice in the courts of Tokelau. Two of those are in the Government service and one in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

Civil cases and appeals

There is no fee for filing

civil case - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...

s in Tokelau, however such cases are uncommon. In the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Tokelau Judicial Annual Reports, it was reported that no civil cases were filed."Tokelau Judicial Annual Report 2011-2012"
Office of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau. Appeals to the Appeal Committee are also uncommon, with the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Tokelau Judicial Annual Reports both reporting that no appeals were made.

References

{{Judiciaries of Oceania Courts in Tokelau

Law of Tokelau