From the Courts

Tonga’s Chief Justice has refused an application by a former Prime Minister Lord Sevele and a former Minister of Transport Paul Karalus, for a judicial review of a report of a special parliamentary committee, because he did not find that the Supreme Court had any jurisdiction to review the internal proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. The applicants were claiming that their reputations were damaged by a report of the parliamentary committee.

The Crown lodged an appeal last week against a decision by Nuku’alofa Magistrate Salesi Mafi to release three of the six men accused of manslaughter in relation to the death of New Zealand Police officer Kali Fungavaka.

The first sitting of Tonga’s Court of Appeal ended at the Supreme in Nuku’alofa on April 17 and delivered judgements, that quashed a 13-years imprisonment sentence and replaced it with six-years for a man who was convicted of raping his sister-in-law while holding a knife to her neck.

Tonga’s Court of Appeal Session began at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court on 8 April with a new judge Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard, and will hear 10 cases, including appeals over sentencing in two rape cases.