Strong Nauru Judiciary Underpins Rule of Law, Ensuring Justice for All
Nauru’s judiciary is one of the nation’s most important institutions, playing a vital role in upholding the rule of law and ensuring fair access to justice.
The judiciary’s mission statement is to “provide accessible justice to the people of Nauru through a fair, efficient, and effective court system”.
Hierarchical in structure, the judiciary comprises the District Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, each governed by legislation and the provisions of the Constitution.
The District Court possesses the power and jurisdiction vested in it by specific legislation, including some criminal and civil matters, and is subordinate to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court derives its power from Article 48 of the Constitution as well as possessing its own inherent jurisdiction, and has multiple divisions including criminal, commercial, probate, family, appellate, constitutional and administrative.
Previous avenues of appeal from the Supreme Court of Nauru to the High Court of Australia are no longer possible, as Nauru abolished the relevant legislation in 2018.
The creation of the Nauru Court of Appeal means it now has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from its Supreme Court.
Nauru has long demonstrated a strong commitment to maintaining an independent and credible judiciary that supports the rule of law and public confidence in the legal system.
These are backed by strong safeguards around the removal of judicial officers.
A judge’s removal from office can only occur in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution.
The Constitution also provides adequate protection for the tenure of judges, as the only grounds for removal are incapacity and misconduct.
Additionally, a judge can only be removed from office with the approval of a two-thirds parliamentary majority.