Kiribati is an island country in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of 33 islands. The area is only 811 square kilometers, though it is spread over an area of 34,41,810 sq km. The population of this state is about 1,21,000. Official languages are English and Gilbertese. Ethnically 95% are Gilbertese. Religiously, 96% are Christian, more than half of them are Catholic. The Bahai religion has a significant number of followers.

Due to climate change, the sea level is slowly rising. Kiribati, located in the Pacific Ocean, is gradually sinking into sea water. Perhaps Kiribati will be the first country in the world to disappear from the world map under water. For this reason, in June 2008, Kiribati requested Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. In early 2012, the government of Kiribati purchased the 2,200 hectare Natoavatu Estate on Vanua Levu, Fiji's second largest island. Fiji is another country located in the Pacific Ocean. At the time it was widely reported in the press that the government had undertaken to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere. In May 2014, President confirmed the purchase of some 5,460 acres of land on Vanua Levu at a cost of 9.3 million Australian dollars.

According to Kiribati's constitution, the government can compel citizens to engage in labor if labor is necessary to meet the situation during a public calamity or other emergency that threatens the life and well-being of the people. This is the positive side. Now let's discuss the negative side. The Constitution guarantees the so-called recognition and special status of the so-called 'indigenous people'. Every person in the world has equal dignity. Indigenous people have been on Earth since beginning, and others are aliens - Of course not. Now everyone in Kiribati is on the verge of becoming 'refugees'. The so-called indigenous people, who so far regarded others as 'outsiders', are now preparing to live as 'outsiders' elsewhere.

Admirable Articles of Kiribati's Constitution

4. Protection of right to life

1. No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the law in force in Kiribati of which he has been convicted.

2. A person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this section if he dies as the result of the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably justifiable—

a. for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property;

b. in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;

c. for the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny; or

d. in order to prevent the commission by that person of a criminal offence,

or if he dies as the result of a lawful act of war.

6. Protection from slavery and forced labour

1. No person shall be held in slavery or servitude.

2. No person shall be required to perform forced labour.

3. For the purposes of this section, the expression “forced labour” does not include—

a. any labour required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court;

b. any labour required of any person while he is lawfully detained that, though not required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court, is reasonably necessary in the interests of hygiene or for the maintenance of the place at which he is detained;

c. any labour required of a member of a disciplined force in pursuance of his duties as such or, in the case of a person who has conscientious objections to service as a member of a disciplined force, any labour that that person is required by law to perform in place of such service;

d. any labour required during any period of public emergency or in the event of any other emergency or calamity that threatens the life and well-being of the community, to the extent that the requiring of such labour is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of any situation arising or existing during that period or as a result of that other emergency or calamity, for the purpose of dealing with that situation; or

e. any labour reasonably required as part of reasonable and normal communal or other civic obligations.

8. Protection from deprivation of property

1. No property of any description shall be compulsorily taken possession of, and no interest in or right over property of any description shall be compulsorily acquired, except where the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—

a. the taking of possession or acquisition is necessary or expedient in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, town or country planning or the development or utilisation of any property for a public purpose; and

b. there is reasonable justification for the causing of any hardship that may result to any person having an interest in or right over the property; and

c. provision is made by a law applicable to that taking of possession or acquisition—

i. for the payment of adequate compensation within a reasonable time; and

ii. securing to any person having an interest in or right over the property a right of access to the High Court, whether direct or on appeal from any other authority, for the determination of his interest or right, the legality of the taking of possession or acquisition of the property, interest or right and the amount of any compensation to which he is entitled, and for the purpose of obtaining that compensation.

2. Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this section—

a. to the extent that the law in question makes provision for the taking of possession or acquisition of any property—

i. in satisfaction of any tax, rate or duty;

ii. by way of penalty for breach of the law of forfeiture in consequence of a breach of the law;

iii. as an incident of a lease, tenancy, mortgage, charge, bill of sale, pledge or contract;

iv. in the execution of judgments or orders of a court in proceedings for the determination of civil rights or obligations;

v. in circumstances where it is reasonably necessary so to do because the property is in a dangerous state or injurious to the health of human beings, animals or plants;

vi. in consequence of any law with respect to the limitation of actions or acquisitive prescription;

vii. for so long only as may be necessary for the purposes of any examination, investigation, trial or inquiry or, in the case of land, the carrying out thereon—

A. of work of soil conservation or of conservation of other natural resources; or

B. of work relating to agricultural development or improvement which the owner or occupier of the land has been required, and has without reasonable excuse refused or failed, to carry out; or

viii. pursuant to rights granted to any person to prospect for or mine minerals where the law in question makes reasonable provision for the payment of royalties and provides for adequate compensation for disturbance of surface rights, except so far as that provision or, as the case may be, the thing done under the authority thereof is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society; or

b. to the extent that the law in question makes provision for the taking of possession or acquisition of—

i. enemy property;

ii. property of a deceased person, a person of unsound mind, a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years or a person who is absent from Kiribati, for the purpose of its administration for the benefit of the persons entitled to the beneficial interest therein;

iii. property of a person declared to be insolvent or a body corporate in liquidation, for the purpose of its administration for the benefit of the creditors of the insolvent or body corporate and, subject thereto, for the benefit of other persons entitled to the beneficial interest in the property; or

iv. property subject to a trust, for the purpose of vesting the property in persons appointed as trustees under the instrument creating the trust or by a court or, by order of a court, for the purpose of giving effect to the trust.

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the making or operation of any law for the compulsory taking of possession in the public interest of any property, or the compulsory acquisition in the public interest of any interest in or right over property, where that property, interest or right is held by a body corporate established for public purposes by any law and in which no moneys have been invested other than moneys provided by the Government.

Facts of Kiribati's Constitution

Preamble

We the people of Kiribati, acknowledging God as the Almighty Father in whom we put our trust, and with faith in the enduring value of our traditions and heritage, do now grant ourselves this Constitution establishing a sovereign democratic State.

8. Protection from deprivation of property (Part of it)

a. the taking of possession or acquisition is necessary or expedient in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, town or country planning or the development or utilisation of any property for a public purpose; and

11. Protection of freedom of conscience (Part of it)

2. Every religious community shall be entitled, at its own expense, to establish and maintain places of education and to manage any place of education which it wholly maintains.

3. No religious community shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for persons of that community in the course of any education provided at any place of education which it wholly maintains or in the course of any education which it otherwise provides.

CHAPTER IX. BANABA AND THE BANABANS

117. Nominated member of Maneaba ni Maungatabu

1. In the Maneaba ni Maungatabu one seat shall be reserved for a nominated representative of the Banaban community (in this section referred to as “the nominated member”).

2. The Electoral Commission shall declare the nominated member to be such person, qualified under the next following subsection, as shall have been nominated by the Rabi Council to fill the seat provided for by this section.

3. No person shall be qualified to be a nominated member unless—

a. he is a Banaban; and

b. he is qualified to be elected as an elected member of the Maneaba in accordance with sections 55(b) and 56 of this Constitution.

4. The seat of the nominated member shall become vacant—

a. if he ceases to be a Banaban; or

b. in any of the circumstances specified in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) of section 57 and section 58 of this Constitution.

5. The High Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any question whether any person has been validly declared to be the nominated member or the nominated member has vacated his seat in the Maneaba or is required by virtue of the preceding subsection and section 58 of this Constitution to cease to perform his functions as a member.

6. An application to the High Court for the determination of any question under the preceding subsection may be made by the nominated member, the Rabi Council, the Electoral Commission or the Attorney-General:

Provided that if such an application is made by a person other than the Attorney-General, the Attorney-General may intervene and may then appear or be represented in the proceedings.

118. Elected representation in Maneaba

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 55 of this Constitution, a person who has attained the age of twenty-one years shall be qualified to be elected as an elected member of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu for an electoral district comprising or including Banaba if he is a citizen of Kiribati or a Banaban.

2. Section 57 of this Constitution shall have effect in relation to an elected member of the Maneaba for an electoral district comprising or including Banaba subject to the qualification that the seat of such a member shall become vacant if that member ceases to be either a citizen of Kiribati or a Banaban.

3. A person shall be entitled to be registered as an elector on Banaba if he is a Banaban or a citizen of Kiribati and is otherwise entitled under section 64 of this Constitution to be registered as an elector in that place.

4. In reviewing the number of electoral districts, the boundaries of electoral districts and the number of elected representatives as these relate to Banaba, the Electoral Commission shall take account of the most recent census data for citizens of Kiribati and for Banabans on Banaba whether or not they are citizens of Kiribati.

119. Land on and access to Banaba

1. Where any Banaban possesses any right over or interest in any land in Banaba, such right or interest shall not be affected in any way by reason of the fact that he resides in Rabi Island in Fiji.

2. Where the Republic has acquired any right over or interest in land in Banaba—

a. from any Banaban for the purpose of phosphate extraction; or

b. by operation of law where the Crown had acquired it before Independence Day from any Banaban for that purpose,

the Republic shall transfer that right or interest to the Banaban from whom it was acquired (whether by the Republic or the Crown) or to his heirs and successors upon the completion of phosphate extraction from that land.

3. Where any Banaban possesses any right over or interest in land in Banaba, no such right or interest shall be compulsorily acquired other than a leasehold interest and in accordance with section 8(1) of this Constitution, and then only where the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—

a. the Banaba Island Council has been consulted; and

b. every reasonable effort has been made to acquire the interest by agreement with the person who possesses the right over or interest in the land.

4. Every Banaban shall have an inalienable right to enter and reside in Banaba and accordingly section 14 of this Constitution shall apply to Banabans in relation to Banaba as if paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of that section were deleted.

120. Movement of persons into Banaba

Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of section 14 of this Constitution to the extent that the law in question makes provision for the imposition of restrictions on the movement of persons other than Banabans into Banaba.

121. Banaba Island Council

1. There shall be a Banaba Island Council.

2. The powers and duties of the Banaba Island Council shall be prescribed by or under law.

122. Independent Commission of Inquiry

1. At the expiration of a period of three years after Independence Day, the Government shall appoint an independent Commission of Inquiry, which shall review the operation of the provisions of—

a. this Chapter; and

b. Chapter III, to the extent that the provisions of that Chapter confer rights on Banabans.

2. Having conducted a review under this section, the Commission shall make such recommendations as it thinks fit, which shall be presented to the Maneaba ni Maungatabu.

3. In the exercise of its functions under this section the Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

123. Appeals to Judicial Committee

1. An appeal shall lie as of right to the Judicial Committee from any decision of the High Court involving the interpretation of this Constitution in any proceedings in which application has been made to the High Court alleging that any provision of this Constitution has been contravened and the rights or interests of any Banaban or of the Rabi Council under this Chapter or Chapter III are being or are likely to be affected by such contravention.

2. Any decision by the Judicial Committee in any appeal under this section shall be enforced in like manner as if it were a decision of the High Court.

3. The Judicial Committee shall, in relation to any appeal to it under this section in any case, have all the jurisdiction and powers possessed in relation to that case by the High Court.

124. Entrenchment

1. A Bill for an Act to alter any of the provisions of—

a. this Chapter; and

b. Chapter III, to the extent that the provisions of that Chapter confer rights on Banabans,

shall not be passed by the Maneaba in Maungatabu except in accordance with this section.

2. Consideration of any such Bill shall be deferred after its first reading in the Maneaba until the next following meeting of the Maneaba.

3. At its second reading in the Maneaba the Bill shall not be passed if—

a. it is not supported by the votes of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Maneaba; or

b. either the nominated member or a Banaba elected member votes against the Bill.

4. If the nominated member is not present in the Maneaba at the time of voting on the second reading of the Bill (whether or not any Banaba elected member is present at that time), consideration of the Bill shall be deferred until the next following meeting of the Maneaba, and the Rabi Council and the Banaba Island Council shall be so informed in writing.

5. At the next following meeting of the Maneaba a further vote on the Bill may be held, and—

a. if the Bill is supported by the votes of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Maneaba and the nominated member does not vote against it, the Bill shall be passed;

b. if the Bill is not supported by the votes of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Maneaba, or if the nominated member votes against it, the Bill shall not be passed.

6. In this section—

a. “nominated member” means the member of the Maneaba provided for in section 117 of this Constitution;

b. “Banaba elected member” means an elected member of the Maneaba for an electoral district comprising or including Banaba;

c. references to provisions of this Constitution include references to any other law in so far as that law alters those provisions;

d. references to altering provisions of this Constitution include references—

i. to repealing them, with or without re-enactment thereof or the making of different provision in lieu thereof;

ii. to modifying them, whether by omitting or amending any such provisions or inserting additional provisions in the Constitution or otherwise;

iii. to suspending their operation for any period, or terminating any such suspension; and

iv. to making any other provision that is repugnant to them or otherwise inconsistent with them.

125. Interpretation

In this Chapter—

a. “Banaban” and “Banabans” means the former indigenous inhabitants of Banaba and such other persons one of whose ancestors was born in Kiribati before 1900 as may now or hereafter be accepted as members of the Banaban community in accordance with custom;

b. “Rabi Council” means the Council of Leaders established by the Banaban Settlement Ordinance 1970 of Fiji, and includes such successor body as represents the Banaban community on Banaba and Rabi Island in Fiji.

Review of 193 Constitutions

Constitution of Kiribati