Nauru judge blocks citizenship law change

Updated April 8, 2008 07:57:50

Nauru's Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the government, which had challenged new rules introduced during an Easter sitting of parliament. [ABC]

Nauru's Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the government, which had challenged new rules introduced during an Easter sitting of parliament. [ABC]

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Nauru has blocked the opposition's attempts to amend the country's Citizenship Act.

The amendment would have made two senior ministers ineligible to take their seats in parliament

The Supreme Court action follows a meeting of opposition members on Easter Saturday, during which new legislation was passed barring the entry into the house of any MP with dual citizenship.

Following that meeting, parliamentary speaker and opposition MP David Adeang called for Foreign Minister Dr Keiran Keke and Commerce Minister Frederick Pitcher to be removed from parliament due to their dual Nauru-Australian citizenship.

When President Marcus Stephen instructed police not to remove the two men from parliament, Mr Adeang accused him of seeking to stage a parliamentary coup.

Nauru's government went on to challenge the new rules in the Supreme Court.

Finding in favour of the government, Chief Justice Robin Millhouse made it clear that the March 22 parliamentary sitting was invalid.

The government's legal counsel, Kristen Walker, says the ruling means any laws and rules introduced during the Easter Saturday meeting cannot be enforced.

"Anything that it purported to do without a quorum is simply invalid and void," she said.

Mr Adeang says he will be studying the decision, and seeking advice, before responding to it.

President Marcus Stephen has welcomed the court's finding, saying it will go a long way towards resolving some of the holes in Nauru's system of governance.