Kiribati
Common law
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Kiribati is a common-law country in the central Pacific with a Constitution of 1979. Its law comes from English law, with customary law playing a large part, especially in land matters.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1979, the highest law
- Acts of Parliament, and English common law
- Customary law, especially for land and family matters
- Decisions of the courts
The main courts
- The Court of Appeal
- The High Court
- Magistrates' Courts, which also hear land disputes
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree from a Pacific university, then admission by the High Court. There are few local lawyers.
What may surprise you
- A country of scattered atolls spread over a vast area of ocean has one national legal system.
- Customary rules on land are applied by the ordinary lower courts.
- Judges are often from other Commonwealth countries.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Kiribati as: Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Kiribati, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
