The Tongan Legal System
The Kingdom of Tonga is a common law country (a country whose law is based on the laws of England) which has its own set of statutes which add to and modify English common law. There are some notable differences between English and Tongan law – the best example being laws surrounding land tenure (See separate tab “Land law”). Nowadays, all lawyers in Tonga have at least an LL.B from an English or Commonwealth law school. In our view that is a bare minimum; as the old saying goes, there is no substitute for experience. In Tonga, local knowledge is often invaluable; in short some things work as they are legally supposed to, and some things don't.
Many Tongan statutes closely mirror statutes in other common law countries; a good example is the Companies Act 1999 which is almost identical to the New Zealand Companies Act. It addition to Tongan cases, the Judges of the Supreme Court will have regard to English, New Zealand and Australian precedent, particularly when the relevant Tongan statute closely mirrors the law in one of those countries. American cases usually carry little or no weight in the Tongan courts.
The Supreme Court – equivalent to the New Zealand High Court – has until very recently only had ex-patriate Judges from England, Australia or New Zealand on its bench. Mr Laki Niu, a senior and much respected lawyer in Tonga, and former long-time president of the Tonga Law Society, was appointed the first Tongan Supreme Court Judge in 2018.
Judgments of the Tongan Supreme Court may be regarded as having the same integrity as judgments from New Zealand or Australia. Corruption at Supreme Court level – where all remotely serious litigation is conducted – is unknown. The Tonga Court of Appeal includes both the Chief Justice of Tonga, and Australian and New Zealand retired judges. As with the Supreme Court, judgments of the Tongan Court of Appeal may be regarded with the same respect as judgments of appellate courts in England Australia or New Zealand.
The Kingdom of Tonga is a common law country (a country whose law is based on the laws of England) which has its own set of statutes which add to and modify English common law. There are some notable differences between English and Tongan law – the best example being laws surrounding land tenure (See separate tab “Land law”). Nowadays, all lawyers in Tonga have at least an LL.B from an English or Commonwealth law school. In our view that is a bare minimum; as the old saying goes, there is no substitute for experience. In Tonga, local knowledge is often invaluable; in short some things work as they are legally supposed to, and some things don't.
Many Tongan statutes closely mirror statutes in other common law countries; a good example is the Companies Act 1999 which is almost identical to the New Zealand Companies Act. It addition to Tongan cases, the Judges of the Supreme Court will have regard to English, New Zealand and Australian precedent, particularly when the relevant Tongan statute closely mirrors the law in one of those countries. American cases usually carry little or no weight in the Tongan courts.
The Supreme Court – equivalent to the New Zealand High Court – has until very recently only had ex-patriate Judges from England, Australia or New Zealand on its bench. Mr Laki Niu, a senior and much respected lawyer in Tonga, and former long-time president of the Tonga Law Society, was appointed the first Tongan Supreme Court Judge in 2018.
Judgments of the Tongan Supreme Court may be regarded as having the same integrity as judgments from New Zealand or Australia. Corruption at Supreme Court level – where all remotely serious litigation is conducted – is unknown. The Tonga Court of Appeal includes both the Chief Justice of Tonga, and Australian and New Zealand retired judges. As with the Supreme Court, judgments of the Tongan Court of Appeal may be regarded with the same respect as judgments of appellate courts in England Australia or New Zealand.