Tonga · Courts
Court structure of Tonga
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Final appellate — Court of Appeal of Tonga
- Final court for criminal and most civil matters; typically constituted from visiting judges.
- Final appellate (land and titles) — Privy Council of Tonga
- A DOMESTIC body chaired by the monarch, not the London Privy Council. Hears appeals on hereditary estates and titles from the Land Court.
- Superior first instance — Supreme Court of Tonga
- Unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction.
- Land — Land Court
- Exclusive jurisdiction over allotments, estates and land claims.
- First instance — Magistrates' Courts
- Summary offences and small civil claims.
Every court in the hierarchy
- supremeNukuʻalofaCourt of Appeal of TongaFinal appeals from the Supreme Court and the Magistrates' Courts in civil and criminal matters. Appeals concerning hereditary estates and titles go instead to the Privy Council of Tonga.
- appellateNukuʻalofaPrivy Council of TongaAppeals from the Land Court on the succession to and boundaries of hereditary estates and on hereditary noble titles.
- first-instanceNukuʻalofaSupreme Court of TongaUnlimited original jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, constitutional questions, judicial review, and appeals from the Magistrates' Courts.
- specialisedNukuʻalofaLand Court of TongaAll disputes over land: tax and town allotments, hereditary estates, leases and boundaries under the Land Act.
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