Nauru's government has announced the appointment of a new Chief Justice as well as two new judges, including the country's first female appointee.
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, who was Fiji's vice-President when then-military commander Frank Bainimarama staged his 2006 coup, was this morning announced by Nauru's Justice Minister, David Adeang, as the new Chief Justice.
Nauru Photo: Supplied
Ratu Madraiwiwi will fill the role left by the former Chief Justice Geoffrey Eames, who resigned in March after Nauru's government controversially withdrew his visa, and barred him from returning to the country.
Two new judges have also been appointed; Mohammed Shafi Khan, a Fijian barrister who has been practising in Australia, and Jane Elizabeth Hamilton-White, an Australian who was once the principal magistrate in Solomon Islands.
The two judges will join the island's resident magistrate, Ropate Cabealawa, who was sworn in after the government deported the former magistrate, Peter Law, after accusing him cronyism.
