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Tonga Law Commission Act 2007

Commencement: Not yet in force

LAWS OF TONGA

TONGA LAW COMMISSION ACT 2007
Act No. 18 of 2007

Arrangement of Sections

PART 1 - PRELIMINARY

Section

1 Short title and Commencement

2 Interpretation

PART 2 - THE COMMISSION

3 Establishment of Commission

4 Members of Commission

5 Remuneration

6 Officers

7 Chairman

8 Meetings

9 Delegation

10 Principal role of the Commission

11 Funding of Commission

12 Directions of Government

13 Specialists

14 Protection of Commission, powers and procedures

15 Annual report

PART 3 - LAW REVISION

16 Law Revision functions of the Commission

17 Contents of revised edition

18 Laws to be omitted from revised edition

19 Revision powers of Commission

20 Format and marking of revised edition

21 Bringing revised edition into force

22 Publication and distribution of revised edition

23 Status and effect of revised edition

24 Updating of revised edition

25 Unofficial publications

26 Correction of minor errors and omissions

27 Keeping of laws passed or made in Tonga

28 Offence

PART 4 - LAW REFORM

29 Law Reform functions of the Commission

30 Approval of work programme

PART 5 - SCRUTINY OF LEGISLATION

31 Scrutiny of legislation

32 Commission may certify

PART 6 - LAW REPORTING

33 Law Reports

PART 7 - TRANSITIONAL

34 Repeal

SCHEDULE 1

OMITTED LAWS

SCHEDULE 2

POWERS OF REVISION

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TONGA LAW COMMISSION ACT 2007
Act No. 18 of 2007

AN ACT TO REVISE, REVIEW AND REFORM THE LAWS OF TONGA, AND FOR RELATED MATTERS

I assent,
GEORGE TUPOU V,
26 October 2007

Commencement [not yet in force]

BE IT ENACTED by the King and Legislative Assembly of Tonga in the Legislature of the Kingdom as follows:

PART 1 - PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and Commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Tonga Law Commission Act 2007.
(2) This Act shall commence on the date to be proclaimed by His Majesty in Council, and different dates may be so specified for different parts of this Act.

2 Interpretation

In this Act —

"Commission" means the Tonga Law Commission established under this Act;

"effective date", in relation to a revised edition, means the date that the edition is brought into force under this Act;

"law" and "written law" means an Act, Ordinance or subsidiary legislation;

"Minister" means the Attorney General and Minister of Justice;

"page", in relation to a revised edition in the format of a CD-ROM or other means of electronic storage or a databank accessible by remote computer, includes any separate item of text;

"revised edition" means a complete revised edition of the laws of Tonga or an update of such an edition;

"revision date", in relation to a revised edition, is the date up until which that edition is current.

PART 2 - THE COMMISSION

3 Establishment of Commission

(1) There is hereby established a Commission to be known as the Tonga Law Commission.

(2) The Commission is a body corporate capable of owning property, being a party to contracts, and suing and being sued.

4 Members of Commission

(1) The Commission shall consist of —

(a) a Chairman appointed by the Privy Council; and

(b) not less than 3 other Commissioners who shall be appointed by the Minister with the consent of Cabinet for a period not exceeding three years.

(2) The Chairman and Commissioners or any person appointed under section 6(1)(a) or (b) or section 13 shall not be subject to the Public Service Act 2002 by virtue of such appointment.

5 Remuneration

The Chairman, members of the Commission and any person appointed under section 6(1) or section 13, may be engaged on a part-time or full-time basis and shall be paid such remuneration or allowances, or both, as may be determined by the Minister with the consent of Cabinet.

6 Officers

(1) The Commission shall, in consultation with the Minister, appoint —

(a) a Director of the Commission who shall be legally qualified and such other legally qualified officers, full-time or part-time, as may be required for the proper conduct of the business of the Commission; and

(b) such other officers as may be so required.

(2) The Minister may, with the consent of Cabinet, remove a member of the Commission from Office and appoint a successor for the balance of the term.

(3) The Commissioners may serve on a part-time basis.

(4) A Commissioner may resign by giving the Minister 3 month’s written notice.

7 Chairman

The Chairman shall be the head of the Commission and shall be responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the Commission.

8 Meetings

(1) The quorum of the Commission shall be 3 members, one of whom shall be the Chairman.

(2) The Chairman shall —

(a) call and attend regular meetings of the Commission;

(b) preside over the meetings of the Commission; and

(c) co-opt any person from the public or specialist to any meeting of the Commission if he considers it necessary.

(3) Subject to this Act, the Commission shall determine its own procedure.

9 Delegation

The Commission may delegate to a member, officer or committee of the Commission the exercise of any of its functions but such delegation shall not prevent the exercise of the function by the Commission.

10 Principal role of the Commission

The Commission shall, subject to this Act, —

(a) consolidate, revise and publish the laws in accordance with Part 3 of this Act;

(b) keep the revised edition of the laws or other versions of the current law up to date and make laws accessible and available;

(c) keep the laws in review in accordance with Parts 3 and 4 of this Act, so that they are relevant and suitable to the changing circumstances;

(d) consider the reform of the laws in accordance with Part 4 of this Act;

(e) consider new draft laws, make recommendations, draft changes if desirable and report on such draft laws, in accordance with Part 5 of this Act;

(f) undertake and promote law reports and to publish law reports and related material in accordance with Part 6 of this Act;

(g) perform such other functions that are specified in this Act or that the Commission, with the approval of the Minister, decides are appropriate.

11 Funding of Commission

The funds available to the Commission shall be —

(a) moneys allocated by the Legislative Assembly for that purpose;

(b) moneys paid to or for it by an external agency or government for general purposes, for a specific purpose, or for the remuneration and benefit of specialists;

(c) money obtained from the sale of publications or other materials or services by the Commission.

12 Directions of Government

(1) The Commission shall, in the exercise of its functions, give effect to the policy of the Government in relation to those functions, as communicated to it in writing by the Minister.

(2) A copy of every communication made under this section to the Commission in any year shall be included in the annual report of the Commission for that year laid before the Legislative Assembly under section 15.

13 Specialists

The Commission may, for the purpose of any aspect of its functions or for the examination by the Commission of any particular law, engage specialists on a temporary basis to —

(a) consider any matter which should, in the opinion of the Commission, be referred to such person and to report thereon to the Commission; or

(b) advise the Commission.

14 Protection of Commission, powers and procedures

(1) Any person appointed under this Act shall not be liable to any suit for any action done by him in carrying out their functions under this Act.

(2) The power of the Commission to perform its functions is not impaired by reason of the absence or inability to act, of the Chairman, any Commissioner, or the Director.

15 Annual report

(1) The Commission shall report —

(a) on its activities for each calendar year to the Minister by 30 March in the next year.

(b) every subject referred to it by the Minister under section 29(2)(a) and report on action taken by the Commission during the year upon such referral.

(2) The Minister shall table the report before the Legislative Assembly in its next ensuing session.

PART 3 - LAW REVISION

16 Law Revision functions of the Commission

(1) The Commission —

(a) shall prepare and bring into force a complete revised edition in both the Tongan and the English languages;

(b) may maintain the edition by preparing and bringing into force updates;

(c) may prepare and publish other material under section 25.

(2) The Commission may appoint a Law Revision Commissioner to assist in the discharge of the Commission’s functions under this Part.

17 Contents of revised edition

(1) A complete revised edition shall contain —

(a) all laws that are in force in Tonga on the revision date and that are not omitted under section 18;

(b) such treaties and conventions that Tonga is a party to, as the Commission considers it desirable to include;

(c) an index of its contents; and

(d) such introductory and explanatory material and such tables as the Commission considers it desirable to include.

(2) If a revised edition contains a law adopting or applying a treaty or convention to Tonga, with or without modifications, the Act, treaty or convention may be reproduced in the revised edition with any such modifications, which shall be clearly indicated by the use of brackets and notes or similar means.

18 Laws to be omitted from revised edition

(1) The Commission shall omit from a revised edition the laws specified in Schedule 1.

(2) A revised edition shall indicate any law omitted pursuant to this section.

19 Revision powers of Commission

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Commission shall have the powers of revision described in Schedule 2.

(2) Nothing may be done under this section that would alter the effect of any law.

(3) Schedule 2 may be amended by His Majesty in Council.

20 Format and marking of revised edition

(1) A revised edition may be contained in such of the following formats as the Commission thinks fit—

(a) bound books;

(b) a collection of booklets;

(c) loose-leaf books;

(d) CD-ROM or other means of electronic storage;

(e) a databank accessible by remote computer.

(2) The revision date of a revised edition shall be—

(a) marked upon every page of a revised edition in printed format; and

(b) displayed upon every page of a revised edition in any other format, in such manner that it is also marked upon a printed copy of that page.

(3) Different revision dates may be marked or displayed upon different pages of a revised edition.

21 Bringing revised edition into force

(1) The Commission may bring a revised edition into force by—

(a) signing 4 copies of a revised edition prepared in accordance with this Act, in one or more of the formats mentioned in section 21, as the authoritative version of the law on the revision date; and

(b) publishing a notice in the Gazette—

(i) bringing that edition, in that format or those formats, into force on a date specified in the notice, and

(ii) where the format is a databank accessible by remote computer, specifying the manner in which it may be accessed.

(2) Where a revised edition is brought into force in the format of a CD-ROM or other means of electronic storage or a databank accessible by remote computer, the Commission may, as an alternative to signing the copies electronically, sign a printout from it of the revised edition.

22 Publication and distribution of revised edition

(1) When a revised edition is brought into force under section 21, the Commission shall deliver one copy each, in each format in which the edition is brought into force, to —

(a) His Majesty the King;

(b) the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly;

(c) the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; and

(d) the Minister.

(2) The Commission shall—

(a) offer for sale copies of a revised edition brought into force in the format of booklets, bound books, loose-leaf books, pages or CDROM or other means of electronic storage; and

(b) make a revised edition brought into force in the format of a databank accessible to remote computers available upon such terms as the Commission may determine.

(3) The Commission may offer for sale or make accessible to remote computers, on such terms as the Commission may determine, copies of a revised edition in a format other than the format in which it is brought into force.

(4) Without prejudice to subsections (2) and (3), the Commission may enter into any agreement for the sale of copies of a revised edition by any publisher or bookseller and for the inclusion of a revised edition in a databank or publication, whether in Tonga or elsewhere, as may appear to be expedient.

23 Status and effect of revised edition

(1) A revised edition prepared in accordance with this Act, in a format in which it is brought into force under section 21, shall be deemed to be, for all purposes whatsoever, the sole authentic edition of the laws of Tonga.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not affect the operation of any law which comes into force after the revision date and which repeals, alters or amends any law included in the revised edition.

(3) A reference in any law to another law or provision amended or otherwise affected by the operation of this Act shall be construed, where necessary and practicable, as a reference to the revised version of the other law contained in the revised edition.

4) A reference in any document to a law or provision amended or otherwise affected by the operation of this Act shall be construed, unless the
contrary intention appears, as a reference to the revised version of the other law contained in the revised edition.

(5) The omission, by virtue of section 18 or paragraph 1 of Schedule 2, of a law from a revised edition brought into force under section 21 shall not affect the operation of that law, which shall remain in force until it has been repealed or has expired, become spent or had effect, as the case may be, and may be proved by the production of any copy of it by which it could have been proved before the revised edition is brought into force.

(6) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a copy of a revised edition brought into force under section 21 where the copy is in a format other than a format in which the edition was brought into force.

24 Updating of revised edition

(1) A revised edition brought into force under section 21 may be updated as provided in this section so as to add or incorporate any law or the effect of any law which comes into force after the revision date.

(2) A revised edition in the form of a bound booklet, bound book, CD-ROM or other means of electronic storage, may be updated by its entire replacement.

(3) A revised edition in loose-leaf format may be updated by the replacement of pages or the insertion or deletion of pages.

(4) A revised edition in the form of a databank that is accessible by remote computer may be updated by the amendment of part or the whole of that databank and the consequent replacement of the current version of the databank.

(5) A replacement, insertion, deletion or amendment pursuant to this section shall have no effect unless it is brought into force under section 21.

(6) A replacement, insertion, deletion or amendment pursuant to this section which is brought into force under section 21 shall have the status and effect described in section 23.

25 Unofficial publications

(1) The Commission may publish, in the form of an internet site, CD-ROM or other means of electronic storage a collection of the laws of Tonga which contains laws, or the effect of laws, made after the revision date.

(2) A publication referred to in subsection (1) shall contain a prominent notation to the effect that the publication is not the official version of the laws of Tonga and such publication shall have no effect upon the definitive status of the revised edition under section 23.

26 Correction of minor errors and omissions

(1) If any clerical or printing error in or omission from a revised edition brought into force under section 21 is found, the Commission —

(a) may correct the same in such manner as may be consistent with the powers of revision conferred on it by section 19(1); and

(b) shall give notice in the Gazette of any corrections so made.

(2) No error in or omission from a revised edition brought into force under section 21 shall affect the validity or lawfulness of any act or omission by any person which would otherwise have been valid or lawful.

27 Keeping of laws passed or made in Tonga

The Minister shall—

(a) keep a copy of every law made after this Act comes into force —

(i) on CD-ROM or in any other form of electronic storage; or

(ii) on a databank; and

(b) make every such copy available to the Commission by, according to the format of the copy, providing a copy of it on CD-ROM or in any other form of electronic storage or making the databank on which it is kept accessible to the Commission.

28 Offence

(1) A person who knowingly makes any alteration to a revised edition, with the intent to deceive any person as to the true text of the law, shall be guilty of an offence and shall upon conviction be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years and a fine of not more than $70,000.

(2) Subsection (1) applies whether the alteration is made in Tonga or elsewhere.

PART 4 - LAW REFORM

29 Law Reform functions of the Commission

(1) The functions of the Commission under this Part are to keep under review all the law applicable to Tonga with a view to its systematic development and reform including in particular —

(a) the codification of such law;

(b) the elimination of anomalies;

(c) the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments;

(d) the reduction of separate enactments;

(e) the proposal of new laws;

(f) the adoption of new or more effective and economical methods for the administration of the law and the dispensation of justice; and

(g) generally the simplification, improvement and modernisation of the law and, subject to section 31, the Commission may in these respects act of its own volition.

(2) For the purpose of carrying out its functions, the Commission shall —

(a) consider any subject referred to it by Privy Council through the Minister;

(b) receive and consider any proposal for the reform of the law which may be made or referred to it;

(c) at the request of the Minister, provide assistance to any Ministry or Department of Government by undertaking the examination of any particular branch of the law and making recommendations for the reform of that branch to bring it into accord with current conditions;

(d) produce reports and discussion papers and draft new and amending law in furtherance of its functions;

(e) consider the impact on the statute law of any judicial decision; and to review decisions of the courts and take any necessary action to keep decisions and the laws in conformity.

(3) The Commission shall furnish to the Minister in accordance with the Minister’s direction such reports as the Minister may require in relation to particular matters.

30 Approval of work programme

The Commission shall, before setting a work programme for any year, seek the approval of such programme by the Minister, and the implementation of such programme is subject to that approval and the degree of priority, if any, decided by the Minister.

PART 5 - SCRUTINY OF LEGISLATION

31 Scrutiny of legislation

(1) The Commission shall establish a Committee or other internal procedure for the purpose of considering the legal and practical efficacy of such of the following as are submitted to it —

(a) draft Bills that the Government proposes to introduce into the Legislative Assembly;

(b) draft subordinate legislation and Ordinances that the Government, the King or a Minister proposes to make or approve for making; and

(c) such other documents as the Commission considers that it should accept for scrutiny and advice, in such manner as it decides.

(2) The Committee shall comprise of representatives of —

(a) the Judiciary;

(b) the Executive; and

(c) the Tonga Law Society.

(3) The Commission shall take all reasonable steps to have such draft laws considered in a timely manner to conform with the Government’s proposed timetable for the introduction and making of the laws.

(4) After considering the laws, the Commission shall report on its conclusions to the Minister and if appropriate shall attach to such report an amended draft law.

32 Commission may certify

The Commission may endorse the Explanatory Memorandum and the draft law with a certificate to the effect that the draft is legally correct and effective and compliant with the Constitution.

PART 6 - LAW REPORTING

33 Law Reports

(1) The Commission shall be responsible for ensuring that the decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal are collected and collated, and if of
sufficient general significance, that reports of the cases are edited and published.

(2) The Commission may —

(a) rely upon any commercial or non-government services whereby the full text of cases, reports or notes of cases are published;

(b) publish reports or notes of cases on the internet, in book form or in some other appropriate manner;

(c) enter into, approve or supervise consultancy agreements for the provision of services;

(d) cause to be prepared other related material, such as case indexes and annotations and to publish these in such manner and form as it thinks useful.

PART 7 - TRANSITIONAL

34 Repeal

The Laws Consolidation Act 1988 is repealed; but this repeal does not affect the validity of anything done under it or the continuing validity of the Revised Edition published under that Act.

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SCHEDULE 1
(Section 18)

OMITTED LAWS

The following laws shall be omitted from a revised edition —

(a) private laws and laws conferring pensions or gratuities on individual persons;

(b) Appropriation Acts;

(c) laws of a temporary nature, limited application or under revision;

(d) laws the carrying into effect of whose provisions is doubtful;

(e) laws according acts of incorporation or converting trusts to public trusts;

(f) subordinate legislation made under an Act omitted under paragraph
(a) to (e);

(g) subordinate legislation of temporary effect or which does not appear to the Commission to be of sufficient importance to be included;

(h) laws omitted from an earlier revised edition of the Laws of Tonga.

SCHEDULE 2
(Section 19)

POWERS OF REVISION

(1) In the preparation of a revised edition, the Commission shall have power to omit —

(a) any law passed or made in Tonga or any part of such a law which has been expressly and specifically repealed or which has expired or has become spent or has had its effect;

(b) any repealing provision contained in a law passed or made in Tonga and also any table or list of repealed laws;

(c) the preamble to any law passed or made in Tonga where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commission, conveniently be made;

(d) any law passed or made in Tonga or any provision of such a law bringing a law or provision of a law into operation where, in the opinion of the Commission, such omission can conveniently be made;

(e) any amending law passed or made in Tonga or any provision of such a law, where the amendments effected by it have been embodied by the Commission in the law to which they relate;

(f) any words of enactment.

(2) In the preparation of a revised edition, the Commission shall have power, in respect of any law, to —

(a) arrange the laws in such order or manner and in such groups as the Commission may determine;

(b) add a short title to a law which does not have one, alter the long or short title of any law or alter the title of any law;

(c) consolidate or split laws or move a provision from one law to another such law in which the provision more properly belongs;

(d) rearrange the provisions of any law or any list in a provision of a law;

(e) add a table of contents or destinations to a law;

(f) add a heading to a provision of a law that does not have one and alter any heading to a provision or part of a law;

(g) omit any Schedule, map, picture, drawing, diagram or other object;

(h) change any reference to a person, office, body, place or thing to reflect a change of name, transfer of function or provision for construction of the reference;

(i) make such adaptations and amendments as may appear necessary or proper as a consequence of constitutional or other changes in Tonga or any other place or territory or in or to any body or organization outside Tonga;

(j) change any words to make them gender neutral;

(k) change any reference to an office established by law to make it gender neutral;

(l) correct any typographical error or other error of spelling, punctuation, grammar or layout;

(m) change spelling, punctuation and layout;

(n) change expressions of date, money, number, time and units of measurement;

(o) change conjunctives and disjunctives at the end of a provision of a law;

(p) omit any obsolete or redundant words;

(q) alter any words to secure uniformity of expression in a law;

(r) shorten or simplify any phrase or sentence;

(s) add numbering where there is none and change numbering to correct an error or reflect any other change made under this section;

(t) substitute for a reference to a law or provision of a law which has been re-enacted or replaced, whether with or without modifications, a reference to the law or provision re-enacting or replacing it;

(u) change a cross reference to a law or provision of a law to correct an error or reflect any other change made under this section;

(v) include examples, notes, annotations, references to case law and other similar material designed to better explain and present the law,

and to do all other things which appear to the Commission to be necessary to render the revised edition consistent with current law drafting practice and to perfect the revised edition.