Kiribati’s constitutional crisis is no closer to resolution, with the country’s court of appeal criticising the government for its conduct towards suspended high court judge David Lambourne, an Australian citizen. Kiribati’s chief justice, New Zealand judge William Hastings, was suspended in late June just as he was due to begin hearing a constitutional challenge brought by Lambourne to his own suspension. Both judges have been suspended on unspecified allegations of misconduct.
Rudyard Kipling published the poem “If —” in the collection “Rewards and Fairies” in 1910. These were the first six lines:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, . . .
The final two lines provided a resolution to all the conditional “if” statements:
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!
Our Man in Kiribati, Chief Justice Bill Hastings, has had a most difficult time of it since his appointment to the island state. Especially over the last month. JANZ and our cousins in the Australian Judicial Officers Association (AJOA) urgently produced a remit persuading support from the International Judges Association for Bill and David. You can read the Presidents statement here.
Let me explain.
David Lambourne, Kiribati’s former solicitor-general, was appointed to the High Court in 2018. He is married to the opposition leader, Tessie Lambourne, and has been a resident of the Pacific nation for over two decades.
The Government of Kiribati has for some time been attempting to remove Justice Lambourne from the judiciary. These efforts have included: refusing to issue Justice Lambourne a visa, refusing to allow him to take a repatriation flight to Kiribati, withholding his salary, and pressuring him to sign an employment contract that purported to limit his tenure. He sued the Attorney general. The case was heard by the Chief Justice.
Hastings CJ, in his judgment, reasoned that you can’t single out a judge to diminish his conditions after appointment. He explained, “It is important to put this case in context,” ... “It involves the separation of powers, the rule of law and an independent judiciary, all of which are fundamental constitutional principles.” He found the government’s actions unconstitutional.
After Chief Justice Hastings affirmed Justice Lambourne’s security of tenure in accordance with his appointment, the Government of Kiribati established disciplinary tribunals to investigate alleged misconduct by both Justice Lambourne, and later, Chief Justice Hastings. As a result, both of Kiribati’s High Court judges have been suspended, and no further appointments can be made while the Chief Justice is suspended from performing the functions of his office. The country is courtless.
Imagine a government attempting to deport the other high court judge, Justice Lambourne, despite an order of the court of appeal not to. And then arbitrarily detaining him. Lambourne was only saved from deportation when the Fiji Airways captain refused to take the judge on board, given his unwillingness to travel.
Fortunately, the Kiribati Court of Appeal consisting of familiar names (Blanchard, Hansen and Heath) had commenced their Lambourne Appeal hearing before the expiration of their own warrants last week and so could deliver judgement in the case which they did last Friday, upholding the Hastings decision.
Find the appeal judgement here
While the broader issues between the government of Kiribati and its judiciary are matters for the government of Kiribati to resolve, consistent with its constitutional and legal processes there are some worrying pan-Pacific political realities.
Chinese influence in the country has been growing since Kiribati withdrew its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in 2019. In late July, Kiribati withdrew from the Pacific Islands Forum around the time the people of Kiribati celebrated the occasion of their 43rd Anniversary of Independence. In relation to the position taken by the Government of Kiribati on the Pacific Islands Forum, following their recent meeting, our Prime Minister echoed the sentiments conveyed by the Forum Chair that the people and Government of Kiribati will always be a part of the Blue Pacific Family. Australia and New Zealand are Kiribati’s primary development partners, so watch this space.
In the meantime, with the Court of Appeal judgment released, our Man in Kiribati, now vindicated, can breathe a sigh of some relief. For keeping his head while all others around blamed him, doubted him, lied about him, hurt him; Bill — from us to you, kia kaha, aroha mai.