Tuvalu Island Courts Bench Book - Federal Court of Australia

3.6 Procedures
Procedures establish how:
• an offender is brought to Court;
• an individual brings his or her claim against another; and
• a case is dealt with.
For the Island Court, procedures are found in the Island Courts Act (Cap 3), and the Island
Courts Regulations (Cap 3).
Where the Act or Regulations are silent on how something is done, refer to the Criminal
Procedure Code (Cap 7), which governs practice and procedure in the Magistrates’ Courts and
High Court.
3.7 Language
The language of the Island Court is Tuvaluan. The process is in Tuvaluan and English. This is
to make the Court accessible to all members of the public.
Where a witness or party speaks a different language, the Court may appoint any suitable person
as an interpreter: s15(2) Island Courts Act (Cap 3).
4 The Law
4.1 Sources of Law in Tuvalu
The laws of Tuvalu are found in:
• the Constitution;
• legislation;
• case law decided by the Courts (known as common law);
• applied laws; and
• customary law.
Tuvalu Island Courts Bench Book June 2004