Laki Niu Explained

Laki Niu is a Tongan judge and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. He was the first Tongan to sit on the Supreme Court of Tonga in over a hundred years.[1]

Niu is a lawyer and was educated at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.[2] In 1986 he challenged the government in court over improper parliamentary proceedings, and was subsequently elected as a People's Representative for Tongatapu in the 1987 Tongan general election.[3] He was re-elected in 1990, but lost his seat in 1993 after splitting with ʻAkilisi Pōhiva over the formalisation of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement into a political party.[4] and the type of democracy it advocated.[5] He subsequently served as President of the Tongan Law Society and remained as President each successive year until 2017 when he resigned. Niu was the longest serving President of the Tonga Law Society. In that role, he was an advocate for an independent judiciary[6] and opposed corporal punishment and the death penalty.[7] [8]

In June 2018 Niu was appointed to the Supreme Court.[1] His contract ended on 30 June 2022, and he was replaced by Petunia Tupou.[9] Following his departure journalist Kalafi Moala alleged that Niu's contract had initially been extended for another two years before abruptly being cancelled.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tonga's Justice Minister welcomes historic court appointment . RNZ . 28 June 2018 . 20 June 2020.
  2. Web site: Tongan Prime Minister visits Law School . Auckland Law School . 4 August 2016 . 20 June 2020.
  3. News: Election brings new members . Pacific Islands Monthly . 58 . 4 . 1 April 1987 . National Library of Australia . 20 June 2020.
  4. News: The Kingdom of Tonga . Kerry James . The Contemporary Pacific . 6 . 1 . Spring 1993 . 20 June 2020.
  5. Book: Identity at Stake in the Present-Day Kingdom of Tonga . Marie-Claire Bataille . Georges Benguigui . 236 . The Changing South Pacific: Identities and Transformations . Serge Tcherkézoff . Françoise Douaire-Marsaudon . ANU E-Press . 1 December 2008 . Canberra.
  6. Web site: Tonga to hold inquiry into judiciary . New Zealand Herald . 12 August 2010 . 20 June 2020.
  7. Web site: Tonga lashing sentence for teenagers sparks anger . BBC News . 18 February 2010 . 20 June 2020.
  8. Web site: British judge sentences two men to six lashes each in Tongan Supreme Court . Laura Roberts . Telegraph Travel . 17 February 2010 . 20 June 2020.
  9. Web site: Petunia Tupou appointed new Supreme Court judge . Matangi Tonga . 27 July 2022 . 28 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728030225/https://matangitonga.to/2022/07/27/petunia-tupou-appointed-new-supreme-court-judge . 28 July 2022.
  10. Web site: Concerns mount after claims judge’s contract was renewed before being axed . Kaniva Tonga . Kalino Latu . 18 August 2022 . 19 August 2022.

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