27 Jul 2004

Pitcairn sexual assault case will be argued in court again today

6:34 am on 27 July 2004

Lawyers for seven Pitcairn islanders facing sexual assault charges will continue their argument today that Pitcairn has never been a British settlement.

They are asking the Pitcairn Court of Appeal, sitting in Auckland, to overturn a Pitcairn Supreme Court ruling that British jurisdiction and laws apply to the accused.

The appeal challenges British sovereignty over its last dependent territory in the Pacific.