Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Australia: Sogavare lodges complaint against Vanuatu registrar for Moti Inquiry letter

Last week, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare stated that he will lodge an official complaint with the Vanuatu government against the conduct of its Supreme Court Acting Registrar, John Alilee.  The basis for the complaint is that Alilee wrote a letter to the Papua New Guinea Inquiry for the Moti incident, stating that the case against Moti is still pending in Vanuatu because Moti had not returned to the jurisdiction.  A protest note to the Vanuatu government was sent on 02 September.

"How can the Acting Registrar assert that our AG had not returned to the Vanuatu jurisdiction when he was physically present there in the Supreme Court for the entire duration of the civil phase of the concocted case against him and so many times since then," Sogavare argued.

In the protest note, Minister of Police Isaac Tosika wrote that Ailee sought to undermine the solidarity of the Melanesian bloc, and alleged that the Australian government was misusing the legal system in Vanuatu.  Tosika further added that Australia's intent to prosecute Moti has significant implications for the law enforcement authorities of Vanuatu, PNG, and the Solomon Islands, and that in addition, it confused the public.

Alilee told the National Express Newspaper that he stands by his letter and that it did not contain anything misleading.  The letter stated that there is a pending application before the Vanuatu court filed by the prosecutor on 08 September 1999, which is pending because Moti was unavailable to be heard in the Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor has not applied for the application to be withdrawn.

Tosika rebutted this statement, saying that  under the legal rules in Vanuatu at the time of the filing, ex parte applications for leave for certiorai relief must be made within six months.  He stated that while the Public Prosecutor applied for leave to apply for an order of certiorai, she failed to file an ex parte application.  Tosika concluded that the Public Prosecutor's failure to obtain leave within six months meant that the application has lapsed and has no legal status.

Among Moti's duties in the Solomon Islands is the review of the statute under which the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands operates.  Australia maintains that its motives for prosecuting Moti under the Child Sex Tourism amendment to its Australian Crimes Act are not political.  (The initial Impunity Watch report on Moti's appointment as Solomons Attorney General can be found here.)  Moti remains a point of tension between Australia and the Solomons, as well as between Australia and PNG.

Please see also:
"PM lodges compaint against Vanuatu court registrar"  Solomon Times  (01 September 2007)
"Moti protest"  Solomon Star  (03 September 2007)
"Solomons protests to Vanuatu"  Pacific Magazine  (03 September 2007)