The Supreme Court is to hold a special sitting to farewell Lord Chief Justice Michael Hargreaves Whitten ahead of his retirement from the bench next month.
An invitation to media this morning says: “Please be advised that a special session of the Supreme Court will be held tomorrow to farewell the Hon. Lord Chief Justice Whitten KC. It will take place in Court 1, at 10AM”.
Mr Whitten was Tonga’s Supreme Court Chief Justice since September 2019, replacing former Chief Justice Owen Paulsen.
Paulsen was the kingdom’s top jurist since 2015 and has led the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in the last four years.
Mr Whitten’s departure comes after Tongan lawyers called on the king to revoke the appointment of lawyer and Privy Council’s Lord Chancellor Tavake Afeaki as Acting Lord Chief Justice to fill the gap left by Whitten’s absence on holiday in Australia in October 2021.
The lawyers were concerned about whether Lord Afeaki has sufficient legal experience to hold such an important position.
The lawyers’ complaint came as part of a big concern about the country’s judiciary which had been described as lack of accountability and transparency.
A review of the 2010 constitution which was used to implement the democratic reforms showed it made sweeping changes to the Judiciary.
These changes created a unique judicial structure not found anywhere else in the Commonwealth, said the report by Peter Pursglove, a legal consultant in Constitutional Law.
The report said Tonga’s 2010 constitution is poorly written, promotes secrecy, has compromised the role of the judiciary and parts of it may be illegal.
According to the Pursglove report, which was endorsed by the Tu’ivakanō government in 2014:
- Tonga’s 2010 constitution does not uphold democracy
- The Privy Council lacks any democratic composition or accountability
- The judiciary lacks accountability and transparency.
- Changes to the judiciary are inefficient, ineffective, unaffordable and possibly illegal.
- No public discussions were held regarding the reforms to the judiciary or why they were considered necessary.
“The present Constitution of Tonga can lay claim to being the most poorly structured and drafted Constitution of any Country in the Commonwealth,” the report says.
