A DOMESTIC body chaired by the King — not the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, and not a general appellate court. Before 2010 it heard broad appeals; the reforms transferred that work to the Court of Appeal and left the Privy Council with the hereditary estates and titles jurisdiction, which matters because the 33 nobles hold the hereditary estates from which most Tongan land is allotted.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- appellate
- Court type
- Domestic appellate body on hereditary estates and titles
- Jurisdiction
- Appeals from the Land Court on the succession to and boundaries of hereditary estates and on hereditary noble titles.
- Seat
- Nukuʻalofa
- Composition
- The King in Privy Council, with Cabinet members and appointed councillors; the Lord Chancellor advises.
- Appointment
- Members are appointed by the King.
- Languages
- Tongan, English
Where an appeal goes next
None. Final within its jurisdiction.
Filing at this court
- Appeal from the Land Court
- Within 30 days on hereditary estate or title matters
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