Criminal
Penal Code with the death penalty abolished
Offences are set out in the Penal Code with procedure under the Criminal Procedure Code, prosecuted by the Attorney General. The death penalty has been abolished, and Island Courts handle minor matters.
Key rules
- Deadline — An arrested person must be brought before a court without undue delay
- Deadline — Appeals from the High Court go to the Court of Appeal, which sits outside Tuvalu
Governing law
- Penal Code (Cap. 8) (s. 9)
- Criminal Procedure CodeCap. 7
- Island Courts ActCap. 3
- Police Powers and Duties Act 2009
In practice
The Penal Code follows the standard colonial model inherited from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands administration, so it closely resembles Kiribati's. Serious matters are tried in the High Court by judge alone; Island Courts and Magistrates deal with the great majority of everyday offences, applying custom in some respects. Tuvalu has abolished the death penalty. Provisions criminalising consensual same-sex conduct remain in the Penal Code and have been the subject of repeated recommendations for repeal at the Universal Periodic Review, which Tuvalu has not accepted — a point that should be stated accurately rather than assumed to have been reformed.