New Nauru contempt law 'a disturbing development'

Transcript

PETER LAW: Being able to report about court decisions, making courts accountable is critical, is very very important. It is important for all institutions in democracies to have a level of accountability and this takes it away. It makes an exception of course, and that is if any member of government or an employee of government wishes to make a statement about a court outcome, they can do so. So in that sense it is also discriminatory. But it is a very unusual development and I think it is a regrettable one because courts are a critical feature of any healthy, functioning democracy and it takes away some of those features about ensuring courts are accountable and ensuring that we have got independence as well. These are laws being brought in by parliament, and traditionally of course courts have always decided on contempt themselves. They have decided if there was a matter of contempt before the court, it was their decision, not that of parliament.   

DON WISEMAN: Why would they do this? It's not the sort of thing you are going to find in western countries is it? 

PL: Well no it's not. It's very hard to know what the reasoning it, except to say there are 19 Nauruans who faces charges in relation to a demonstration. As I understand there were people demonstrating to ensure their member of parliament was restored to parliament because they had been suspended. And at any rate 19 of them were arrested and charged, and this apparently has been going on for some time, so reporting of this court process has apparently embarrassed the government and is the source of some sensitivity for the government. So I can only presume that that's the reason behind it. It will certainly prevent any reporting about that particular case. But then again the other things that this government has done have been surprising as well. They promised to replace the High Court with an appeals court, and nothing has happened in that regard. So they have done away with any appeal from the Supreme Court of Nauru, to the Australian High Court and haven't replaced it with anything. So there are a number of people - in this particular demonstration, three of them pleaded guilty and they appealed their sentences. It went to the High Court and that was sent back to the Supreme Court for further consideration and any appeal on that now is in abeyance, because there is no appeals court. So they are alarming developments.