Judicialising the climate struggle

The United Nations has asked the International Court of Justice for a ruling on climate change obligations:

The UN General Assembly has adopted a Vanuatu-led resolution calling for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on climate change and human rights.

The resolution was tabled by Vanuatu and a core group of 17 countries, aiming to clarify what the obligations of states are in protecting the rights of current and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change.

The motion, sponsored by more than 130 countries, was greeted with cheers.

While an ICJ advisory opinion isn't binding, it will be influential, and likely to be accepted by countries who wish to appear to be good international citizens, and by courts who find international legal arguments convincing. The latter group includes Aotearoa, so this is a ruling that will make a difference here. And we have Vanuatu - and a bunch of USP law students - to thank for it.

No freedom of speech in Vanuatu

Last year, Vanuatu passed a "cyber-libel" law. And predictably, its first targets are those trying to hold the government to account:

A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has raised serious concerns about freedom of speech in the Pacific country.

At least four people on two separate islands have been arrested as part of a major investigation by Vanuatu’s Serious Crime Unit in the last few weeks, including a factory worker, a printer, a business owner, and a Facebook page moderator. They face charges of cyber stalking, cyber slander, and cyber libel and face up to three years in prison and fines of up to three million Vatu (US$25,838).

The charges relate to alleged comments on Facebook claiming that two politicians in the country had breached Covid quarantine protocols, one of which had played a role in the community transmission of the virus.

MPs violating quarantine and so spreading covid among the community is obviously a matter of huge public interest. But the law - or rather, the government - apparently doesn't recognise that, and instead views criticism and calls for accountability as a crime. Which is the sort of shit you'd expect in Putin's Russia, not a Pacific democracy.

Climate Change: Off to the World Court?

Vanuatu is leading a push to take the issue of climate change to the World Court:

Vanuatu will ask the International court of justice for an advisory opinion on the rights of present and future generations to be protected from climate change.

[...]

Ahead of the summit, Vanuatu will expand “its diplomacy and advocacy” by forming a coalition with fellow Pacific Islands and other vulnerable nations to push the initiative.

An advisory opinion would require a majority vote at the UN General Assembly. I'd expect Aotearoa to support this. Its in perfect alignment with our stated goals and values - environmental protection and a law-governed international order. OTOH, you'd also think that of the IUCN's deep-sea mining moratorium, which the government abstained from.

An advisory opinion isn't legally binding. But it would be influential. National courts will listen to it. Governments will listen to it. And even if it doesn't result in the outcome we want, it will almost certainly tell us what we need to do to get it (in the way that the Advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons effectively told us we needed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to establish a cusomary prohibion).

You can read more about the campaign here.

Vanuatu: Ending the farce

Last month 14 Vanuatu MPs were convicted of bribery and corruption and sentenced to imprisonment, robbing the government of its majority. But rather than accept this and resign, Prime Minister Sato Kilman initially tried to cling to power, refusing to call Parliament to allow a confidence vote. Now, vanuatu's President has ended the farce by dissolving Parliament and calling a snap election:

Vanuatu's president has dissolved the country's parliament in an attempt to resolve an impasse after the conviction of 14 government MPs for bribery.

The 14 MPs lost their appeals against both their convictions and jail sentences last week, forcing them to vacate their parliamentary seats.

The convictions meant the opposition, led by Ham Lini, controlled two-thirds of the remaining seats.

President Baldwin Lonsdale today called a snap election and dissolved the parliament, citing the inability of the prime minister and opposition to form a government of national unity.

And hopefully that's the end of it. A new Parliament can be elected, hopefully of people untainted by corruption, and Vanuatu can finally move on.

Justice for corruption in Vanuatu

Two weeks ago, Vanuatu's Speaker of the House caused a constitutional crisis by abusing his powers as acting president to purportedly pardon himself and 13 other MPs who had been convicted of bribery. The pardons were quickly revoked, and yesterday the country's Supreme Court found that they were illegal and the revocations were valid. And today, the Speaker and his fellow corrupt MPs were sentenced for their crime:

Vanuatu's Speaker Marcellino Pipite has been sentenced to three years in jail following his conviction on bribery charges.

He is among 15 MPs being sentenced in the Supreme Court in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila today

Justice Mary Sey is delivering her judgement to a packed court room.

The deputy Prime Minister Moana Carcasses has been sentenced to four years and a former Prime Minister Serge Vohor has been sentenced to three years.

[The different number of MPs is because one MP who plead guilty was not pardoned]

The sentence means that these MPs will lose their seats. Vanuatu will therefore be facing either 15 by-elections, or a snap general election.

Revoked

Last week, Vanuatau's Speaker of the House (and half the government) was convicted of bribery. Over the weekend, he abused his position as Acting President to purportedly grant himself and his fellow corrupt MPs a free pardon (oh, and sack the Ombudsman who had uncovered the whole thing into the bargain). But now, those purported pardons have been purportedly revoked.

"Purportedly" because the idea of revoking a pardon is very queasy constitutional territory. Yes, these people were guilty. Yes, power was abused to let them off the hook. But putting them back on it seems to breach double jeopardy. Vanuatu's President claims that the pardons were issued prematurely, and should have waited until after sentencing, and I'll be pleased if he's right. But that's a view which the corrupt MPs can (and likely will) challenge in court. Meanwhile, it does illustrate the whole problem of the feudal relic of giving the King's President's friends a "get out of jail free" card, doesn't it?

But regardless of what the court decides, it looks like there's growing pressure for a political solution. Vanuatu's Prime Minister responded to the conviction of half his government for bribery and a subsequent abuse of power to let them off the hook with absolute silence. When he finally spoke up after a week, it was to hide behind the sub judice rule and accuse the opposition of "making mountains out of molehills". That's simply appalling. Meanwhile, with the opposition planning a no confidence motion, MPs have all mysteriously been paid US$9000 by the government in what seems to be another attempted bribe. So, basicly the Vanuatu government have learned nothing at all from this and do not wish to change the way they do things. Fortunately it looks like they won't remain the government for much longer.

How it works in Vanuatu

On Friday, a Vanuatu court convicted Deputy Prime Minister Moana Carcasses and 13 other MPs of bribery over payments Carcasses made to influence a confidence motion. Among those convicted was Speaker of the House Marcellino Pipite, who was coincidentally acting President due to the President being out of the country. Like the others, Pipite would almost certainly lose his seat (and status and salary) next week after sentencing, but he had a simple solution: pardon everyone:

Vanuatu's acting president Marcellino Pipite has confirmed he has used his interim executive powers to pardon himself and 13 other MPs convicted of bribery.

Mr Pipite told assembled media in his office in Port Vila that the pardon was to maintain peace and unity in Vanuatu.

He pointed to disturbances in Solomon Islands, Bougainville and Fiji as reasons behind maintaining the nearly one-third of parliamentary members convicted of bribery on Friday.

When pressed on how the bribery convictions could spark instability, Mr Pipite failed to answer.

Its transparently a self-interested move to protect his position and the power of the current government. And while its certainly legal, its also unquestionably unconstitutional, in the sense that it is not how things are supposed to be done in a democratic state under the rule of law. These MPs have behaved corruptly. They should pay the price for that, including being unseated and replaced by people who haven't. Instead, Vanuatu's Speaker has abused his office to protect himself and his friends - and by doing so sent a clear message that corruption will be tolerated and protected if it benefits those in power. It is total banana republic stuff. And Vanuatu's voters should force him from office for it.