New Magistrate Court at Lopaukamea 11

With the need to improve and extend the services of the judiciary to the public, the Ministry of Justice has commissioned on Thursday the 15th of May 2008 another Magistrate Court at Lopaukamea 2 at the central district of Tongatapu. This is to provide easy access of the public, especially the litigants at the Magistrate jurisdiction, to the judiciary. It is the third Magistrate Courts outside of Nuku’alofa. The other two is Mua for the Eastern District, and Nukunuku for the Western District.

Lopaukamea Magistrate Court will mostly serve villages in the Central Districts, starting from Malapo, Vaini. Folaha, Longoteme, Veitongo, Ha’ateiho, Pea, Tokomololo, Lomaiviti, Utulau, Halalo, Haakame and Liahona. According to the last census in 2006, the three most populous villages outside of Nuku’alofa District are at the Central District; namely, Vaini, Pea and Haateiho. This new Magistrate Court will lighten cases dealt with by Magistrate Courts at Fasi-moe-afi.

3rd Supreme Court Judge

The Supreme Court has now recruited a third Supreme Court Judge, Justice Robert Shuster of Rugby, United Kingdom, on a two-year contract of service with the Commonwealth Secretariat. Tonga has long been using the services of only two Supreme Court Judges including the Chief Justice, and some of the Judges are on secondment funded by the New Zealand Government. However, this time with the financial assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Supreme Court is now lucky to have the third Judge for the Supreme Court. This assistance was based on a request from the Government for a Supreme Court Judge to assist in disposing cases mostly emanated from the infamous 16/11 riot of 2006.