Nineteen Nauru men facing charges over an anti-government protest are in court today asking the judge to throw out the case.
Photo: 123 RF
The incidents are alleged to have happened more than three years ago.
The men, dubbed 'the Nauru 19', said the delay in getting the case to court was one reason they were seeking a permanent stay.
Another factor motivating them is the Nauru Government's failure to comply with a Supreme Court directive to pay the group's Australian lawyers $US166,000.
The government has indicated it will appeal that decision but it has not had a final appellate court to appeal to.
This is because it ended the island's reliance on the Australian High Court earlier this year before a local court was set up.
That process is now underway with the announcement last week that Nauru has contracted the chief justices of Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu to sit on the court, along with a senior judge from Papua New Guinea.