Lord Chief Justice Whitten has warned government that the Courts have enough power and precedence to file charges of contempt of court personally against public officials, including Ministers.
This means Ministers can be jailed for contempt of court if they delay, defy, undermine, or fail to institute orders of the courts. In democratic government and good governance, it is extremely important that the three branches of government are able and willing to check each other and allow these checks and balancing mechanisms to work.
The comments are part of an intermediary ruling by the Chief of the Judiciary on a charge of contempt of court related to a court order issued earlier regarding unilateral breach of contract by government. The contract related to a partnership that allowed specific companies to receive infrastructure and road works supplies purchases from government. Recently, government (through the Ministry of Infrastructure, MOI) suspended the contract and discontinued the purchases.
The aggrieved parties to the contract (Saia Moehau, Etuate Lavulavu, Lord Nuku) sued and won a court order to restore their contracts. However, it seems the Minister of Infrastructure, Seventeen Toumoua, delayed, or was unwilling to implement the court order resulting in last week’s filing for contempt. Government, through its counsels, either failed to explain its policies and actions, or unwilling to do so in the courts.
Chief Justice Whitten postponed action on the contempt filing giving government and the Infrastructure Ministry just a little more time to reconsider and obey. Otherwise, it seems there will be few reasons to hold back the courts from indicting and jailing the Minister.