KIRIBATI (Commonwealth Union)_ With Tetiro Semilota being named acting chief justice on Friday, the conflict over the division of powers in Kiribati reached new heights.
In a private ceremony held in Tarawa, the nation’s capital, Semilota was sworn in on Friday afternoon. According to the Kiribati constitution, Taneti Maamau, the President appoints the chief justice on the recommendation of his cabinet. If Semilota had initially resigned her post as attorney general was not immediately evident.
According to information provided to Guardian Australia, Semilota will be officially welcomed to the high court on Wednesday during a special session. In Kiribati, where the use of foreign judges is frequent, she is the first female and Kiribati person to hold the position.
Since a year ago, the Kiribatian government has been at odds with the country’s judicial system. The issue started in 2021 the government forbade Australian citizen and high court judge David Lambourne from entering the nation. Chief Justice and New Zealand judge William Hastings later determined that the government’s action was unlawful. After suspending Hastings and Lambourne, the government attempted to deport Lambourne for a short time in contempt of a court of appeals order. After they had denounced the administration’s activities, the three justices of the court of appeal were all suspended by the government.
Major concerns about Kiribati’s system of checks and balances are raised by the appointment of the government’s top lawyer as acting chief justice. The Kiribati constitution requires that the judiciary be “independent and impartial”.
A recent public intervention by Diego Garca-Sayán, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and attorneys, marks the most recent development in the ongoing situation. Garca-Sayán expressed his “great concern” over the suspensions of Lambourne and Hastings and the result that “Kiribati does not currently have a functional high court” in a letter to the Kiribati government in August.
