Kiribati Judge of the High Court

Reference: PG/KIR/0690
Location: Tarawa, Kiribati
Duration: 3 Years
Closing Date: 21 Jun 2013

Project Background

The Judiciary of Kiribati is made up of Magistrates’ Courts, High Court and Court of Appeal. Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth and a former British Protectorate which gained independence on 12 July 1979. Limited right of appeal to the Privy Council still exists in certain matters only. The High Court of Kiribati is established under Chapter VI, section 80 of the Constitution and has original jurisdiction as well as appellate jurisdiction. Under the Constitution the judges of the High Court shall be the Chief Justice and “such number of other judges” as may be prescribed.

Until the mid-1990s the UK Department for International Development and its predecessor the ODA had funded the appointment of a second High Court judge. Following the withdrawal of the funding from DFID, Kiribati has been unable to fill this role locally, and in July 2011 when the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General led a delegation to Kiribati both the President and Government highlighted this as a crucial area for capacity support.

Concurrently, following the end of his appointment as a CFTC funded judge in Belize, Sir John Muria was appointed the Chief Justice of Kiribati and took office in March 2011. Sir John Muria has been instrumental in the organisation of a needs assessment examining the needs of the judiciary in Kiribati in consultation within the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association.

At present the High Court of Kiribati is comprised only of the Chief Justice and the Commissioner of the High Court (who is also the Chief Registrar). There are two court houses for the High Court, one of which is used by the Court of Appeal when sitting and by magistrates at any other time. With 33 islands and a population of about 107,000 people stretching over an area of 1.3 million square miles, Kiribati’s need for adequate manpower to serve in its High judiciary is very real. In recent years the number of cases in civil, criminal and land has risen significantly, demonstrating the need for additional judges in order to contain the increase in cases and to reduce the backlog of cases.

There are 150 magistrates in Kiribati sitting across the 21 courts of the islands of Kiribati. As there is no Chief Magistrate, the role of support to the magistrates falls to the Chief Registrar. Limited training of magistrates and the non-existence of qualified legal support for lay magistrates, has led to severe challenges in the effective and timely hearing of cases. Improving case management as well as core skills in areas such as: The rules of evidence; Matrimonial property; and Inheritance matters, are increasingly important challenges.

The need assessment mission also identified other key challenges facing the Judiciary in Kiribati, including the High Court. Specifically, the High Court still applies the 1964 Western Pacific High Court Civil Procedure Rules which were used during the colonial era. “There is a desperate need to update these.”

Project Purpose

Over the course of the project term it is expected that the expert will ‘improve the operational effectiveness of the court system in Kiribati’.

Project Goal

In the long-term the Project is ultimately expected ‘to improve access to justice in Kiribati’.

Project Summary

This project aims to strengthen the capacity of the High Court of Kiribati, through the provision of a Judge for a period of three years. The Judge will assist in building and maintenance of a strong, effective and independent Judiciary in Kiribati. The Project will support an improved case management, rules of court and office practices, and training of court officers and staff members in order to enable the High Court to deliver an effective, efficient and independent judicial service according to international standards of compliance and performance.

The immediate beneficiaries will include legal practitioner, litigants, court registries and court staff who will collectively benefit from professional training, more effective case management practices, and improved collaboration among judicial colleagues. Ultimately, all court users and the wider people of Kiribati will benefit from the more effective administration and delivery of justice, new Civil Procedure Rules, this will also contribute to greater social, political and economic stability.

Project Outputs

Output 1: The backlog of High Court cases is heard and appropriately disposed

Expected Activities to include:

Assessment of backlog cases

Conduct civil and criminal trials in the High Court

Hear appeals from Magistrates’ Court

Prepare Case Reports

Output 2: Increased efficiency (speed and accuracy) of court proceedings and case management, with relevant training for judicial officers

Expected Activities to include:

Review capacity and operations of judicial officials and court proceedings including case management, rules of court and office practices.

Consultations with Chief Justice

Implement agreed changes to court operations, case management and administration systems

Capacity Needs Assessment of judicial officers, including magistrates

Mentoring and Training of judicial officers including magistrates

Output 3: Proposed revisions to Civil Procedure Rules, accompanied by corresponding implementation support for the new Rules and Procedures

Expected Activities to include:

Consultations with relevant stakeholders

Prepare briefs and a report with proposals for the preparation and establishment of new Civil Procedure Rules

Assist the Chief Registrar and staff of the High Court in implementing Civil Procedure Rules

Implementation Arrangements

The project has been requested by the Government of Kiribati, on behalf of the High Court, Betio-Tarawa, Kiribati. The expert will be based at the High Court directly supporting and reporting to the Chief Justice of Kiribati.

Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division (LCAD) of the Commonwealth Secretariat will provide technical support throughout the project, which will be developed, managed and monitored by the Technical Cooperation and Strategic Response Group (TCSRG).

The Expert engaged under the project will be expected to ascertain baseline indicators at the start of the project upon which to judge project progress towards its objectives. These will be presented in the inception report, and will be reported against in 6 monthly progress reports, as well as in the final report.

Transfer of Expertise

The Commonwealth Secretariat attaches particular importance to the transfer of expertise and knowledge to counterparts. The expert in his/her discussions with the Reporting Officer should draw attention to the need for key staff to be assigned as counterparts at the beginning of the assignment. This should be reported on in the Inception Report (due after two months). A training programme for key counterpart staff should be produced by the expert and agreed with the Reporting Officer. An update should be provided on this in the first Progress Report, due after 6 months.

Experience & Qualifications

The successful candidate should possess the following experience and qualifications:

Degree and professional qualification in law
Minimum of 10 years’ professional experience as a judge of a higher court in any Commonwealth jurisdiction, including a minimum of 5 years’ experience of hearing cases as a Judge of a High Court
Experience in the implementation of modern and efficient court systems and procedures
Experience in case management systems
Strong presentation, communication and report writing skills
Fluency in written and spoken English
Proficient in MS Word, Excel spread-sheets, and MS Power Point presentations.

Desirable:

Experience of developing and delivering capacity building inputs for the justice sector

Experience of working in a Commonwealth Country or/ the Pacific region