Kiribati flag with statue of lady justice and judicial scales. Photo: 123RF
A United Nations Special Rapporteur has castigated the Kiribati Government for its treatment of judges and the country's judicial crisis.
Kiribati has limited legal services available, with no court of appeal, following the suspension of five judges.
Those suspended were four New Zealand judges and one Australian.
The issues stem from the government's push to remove David Lambourne, whose wife is the opposition leader, as a judge, back in 2020.
Mr Lambourne filed a constitutional challenge over the government's actions, and, as then Chief Justice, Bill Hastings, prepared in mid 2022 to hear this, he was suspended.
Denied an opportunity to properly defend himself Hastings resigned.
The three retired senior New Zealand judges serving on the Kiribati Court of Appeal, Paul Heath K.C, Peter Blanchard K.C, and Rodney Hansen K.C, were also suspended in September 2022.
The terms of Heath and Blanchard have since expired but Hansen and Lambourne remain suspended and are seeking redress.
The ABC reported at the time that the office of Kiribati President Taneti Maamau said it was "gravely concerned by the continuing attack on the rule of law by a few judges, who refuse to honour the constitution, laws and customs by issuing autocratic mandates".
"The government of Kiribati will continue to stress that it is vital that judicial integrity underpin judicial independence, so the rule of law does not become a vehicle for autocratic judicial tyranny that robs our good and honest people of their sovereignty," it said.
Kiribati parliament complex. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koro Vaka'uta
UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite - the second of two officials from the UN Human Rights Council to consider the matter - issued a report three months ago and gave the government time to remedy the concerns she raised.
RNZ Pacific understands that the country remains without a Court of Appeal and only limited High Court activity, with a backlog in cases going back years.
Efforts to find out if the government has made any move in response to Satterthwaite's report have, to date, gone unanswered.
What concerns does the UN special rapporteur want answered
Satterthwaite sought an explanation of how the treatment of Hastings and the three Court of Appeal judges is compatible with human rights standards and the independence of the judiciary.
She sought the latest on the case involving Judge Lambourne.
She wanted to know how a tribunal set up to investigate the Court of Appeal judges is in line with their right to a fair and impartial trial.
The special rapporteur wants the government to indicate what steps it is taking to ensure the independence of the Kiribati judiciary, the access to justice and right to a fair trial in the country.
The government told parliament in the last sitting that it had responded to Satterthwaite.
In August 2022, Special Rapporteur Diego Garcia-Sayan, produced a similar report, which also appears to have been ignored by the government.
The country's first president, Sir Ieremia Tabai, who is an opposition MP, has been one of the strongest local critics of the government's actions.
But he said most of the people don't know, because the matter is not covered by government controlled media, which is most media in Kiribati.
He said during that last parliamentary session he asked what was happening with the judiciary and the government replied evasively, saying, "the Ministry of Justice continues to work closely with the Judiciary to ensure the Court of Appeal performs its role.".
He said it is a bad situation the government has created but he doubted they will try to resolve the matter before next year's general election.
Sir Ieremia Tabai Photo: Supplied/UNDP
Crisis ongoing for over three years
Last year, the government elevated its attorney general Tetiro Semilota to acting chief justice at the same time leaving the attorney general position vacant.
Kiribati remains embroiled in a judicial crisis that began more than three years ago
Semilota remains as the acting chief justice and Satterthwaite said in her report this may have implications for the election.
The Kiribati judicial crisis has now been going on for more than three years and in that time there has been strong condemnation from lawyers' groups across the Pacific and around the world, but very little from Pacific governments and agencies such as the Pacific Islands Forum.
When asked about this matter and similar issues last week, the New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the government will not shy away from helping where it can, but it won't be by passing judgement.
"You want to be able to help and you want to be able to provide and provision with the sort of expertise that can help civil service help the government to be better performing," he said.