Moana Lunchtime Seminar: Contemporary Constitutional Developments in Tonga: The Executive
- Tuesday 16 July
- 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
- Northey Lecture Theatre (801-204, Auckland Law School, 9 Eden Crescent)
Tonga remains unique amongst Pacific Island states as the only country to have retained self-governance. This can be attributed to the efforts of King George Tupou I, founder of the modern Tongan state and promulgator of the 1875 Constitution. This presentation will examine the much vaunted political and constitutional democratic reforms of 2010 with a focus on the executive, taking into account contemporary political developments; the objective being to underscore the impact of the customary norms on constitutional provisions and what this means for the Tongan legal landscape and political horizons.
Dr Suliana Mone
Dr Suliana Mone was born in Fiji and raised in Tonga. She is from the villages of Folaha, Fua'amotu, Nukunuku, Holonga, Houma Vava'u and Ha'ano Ha'apai. She attended Queen Salote College in Tonga and immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand as a teenager. She has lived in the Pacific and Europe and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Waikato. Dr Mone was a lecturer and Pacific Convenor at Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato before moving to Auckland Law School, where she is now a Lecturer and Assistant Dean Moana Oceania. Her areas of research and interest are international law, human rights, women's rights and law in the Pacific region generally.