Kiribati to deport Australia-born High Court judge

27/4/2024 18:10

        Kiribati has notified an Australian-born judge removed from High Court by parliament this week that he will be deported after 21 days, in a case a U.N. special rapporteur said was a major setback for justice in the Pacific Islands nation.
        
        David Lambourne, the former judge, said on Saturday he was served with a deportation liability notice at his home on Friday evening by Kiribati's director of immigration, after President Taneti Maamau had approved his removal.
        
        Lambourne, who has lived in Kiribati for 30 years and is married to the opposition party leader, said the decision was politically motivated.
        
        The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite said the process by which Lambourne was removed violated international standards, and a special tribunal convened by the president was "marred by procedural irregularities".