Procedures
Supreme Court with a domestic Court of Appeal created in 2018
District Court and Family Court below, the Supreme Court with unlimited jurisdiction, and since 2018 a domestic Court of Appeal that replaced appeals to the High Court of Australia.
Key rules
- Deadline — Appeals from Lands Committee determinations must be brought within 21 days
- Deadline — Appeals to the Court of Appeal follow the 2018 Act and its rules
Governing law
- Civil Procedure Rules 1972, Or. 3
- Courts Act 1972
- Nauru Court of Appeal Act 2018
- Nauru Lands Committee Act 1956appeals
In practice
The structural change of 2018 is the point to understand: before it, a litigant in Nauru could appeal to the High Court of Australia, giving a very small jurisdiction access to a large and independent apex court. That agreement was terminated and a domestic Court of Appeal substituted, so the final appellate authority is now Nauruan judges, several of whom are non-resident appointees. Given the size of the legal profession and the judiciary, conflicts and recusal are practical constraints on appellate composition. Land ownership disputes begin with the Nauru Lands Committee rather than a court, with a short 21-day appeal window to the Supreme Court that is easily missed.