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A former Attorney General of Tonga today said that the move to quash perjury charges against a Tongan law lord raised questions about the independence of the country's judiciary.

Since taking up his post as Tonga's new Chief Justice on September 27, Hon Michael Dishington Scott has been very busy catching up with cases in his chambers at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.

Tonga's Chief Police Magistrate Samiu Palu (64) died suddenly on Saturday, September 18 after collapsing at his plantation in Tongatapu.

The Prime Minister Hon Dr Feleti Sevele in a press conference today strongly disputed a statement made by the departing Mr Justice Warwick Andrew that he was not allowed to continue to sit in the Supreme Court by virtue of a cabinet decision.

His Majesty King George Tupou V in Privy Council appointment Michael Dishington Scott as the new Chief Justice of Tonga yesterday, August 27.

In a strong statement accusing the Tonga Government of attempting to influence the Judiciary, the President of Tonga's Law Society, Laki Niu, yesterday afternoon called a move to set up a new Royal Commission of Inquiry into the matter a "farce".

Tonga's Chief Justice Anthony David Ford will preside over his last case in the Tonga Supreme Court on Friday, August 13, before he leaves for New Zealand the following day.

Tonga's Magistrate Courts have a shortage of Magistrates, with only four sitting since January this year - a dramatic decrease from about 10 Magistrates who presided in the lower court in 2009.

The purchase of the MV Princess Ashika was a major acquisition for the Tonga Government but the Cabinet failed to ascertain that its decisions were implemented, and to allow its established institutions, the Procurement Committee and Anti Corruption Commission to operate effectively. This resulted in the purchase of an unseaworthy vessel that was ready for scrap and should never have been allowed to sail in Tonga, a Royal Commission of Inquiry has found.