Transcript
The President Baron Waqa has told parliament that the Constitution Amendment Bill 2018 will signal an important shift in the relationship with Australia.
Part of his speech reads as follows:
"Mr Speaker the establishment of a final appellate court in the Republic can be regarded as an affirmation of Nauru's sovereignty, independence and maturity as a nation. Severance of ties to Australia's highest court is a logical step towards full nationhood and an expression of confidencee in Nauru's ability to determine its own destiny.".
But a former justice minister, Mathew Batsiua, who is one of 19 people facing charges over an anti-government protest nearly three years ago, says they think the move is rather suspicious.
He says the protestors have been seeking a stay because they fear they would not get a fair trial in Nauru and one of the recent developments is that the government has agreed to appoint a foreign judge.
"Basically by doing that they are admitting that there is concern about the independence of our judiciary. So there are questions of confidence and whether this government will do the right thing and appoint judges to the judiciary who will deemed fair and independent by the public."
Mr Batsiua says it cannot be ignored that this move is being pursued now.
He says there are a number of constitutional issues that warrant review, but this is not pressing.
"So pushing this ahead as a stand alone change is suspicious to us. One of the avenues that we have been using is appealing to the High Court of Australia for certain decisions that have gone against us, and we have had some success with that. So we believe the government is reacting to those situations and they are trying to shut off those avenues."
A former resident magistrate in Nauru says the judiciary is too compromised for the country to end appeals to Australia's High Court.
Peter Law, who was deported when he got offside with the government, says having a local court of appeal sounds fine on paper, but the reality is the Nauru judiciary has been compromised for years.
"It just doesn't relate to 2014 when the actions against me were taken and subsequent orders by the Supreme Court were ignored, when there were bans on my deportation issued by the Supreme Court. The fact of the matter it that it has been compromised and it is disappointing that they would now try and set up something as an alternative to what little judicial accountability there is."
Peter Law says in his view the courts have not shown independence so this move further jeopardises the chances of Nauruans receiving justice.
"They have just taken action at the behest of what appears to be fitted in with the political line of the government at the time. in my observation there hasn't been any real independence demonstrated by either the District Court or the Supreme Court. So any resort to justice and appropriate justice is in jeopardy."
Despite the government's overwhelming majority in parliament Mathew Batsiua says his group believes the planned change is not a done deal.
He says because it is a constitutional amendment the government has to give at least 90 days notice.
He says his group wants the government to use this time to ensure the people are consulted on the implications of the change
