Tonga
Common law
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Tonga is a common-law country with a written Constitution of 1875 and a King as head of state. Its law is based on English law, and land is held by the Crown and the nobles, not owned freely.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1875, as amended, the highest law
- Acts of the Legislative Assembly, and English common law
- Decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
The main courts
- The Court of Appeal
- The Supreme Court
- The Magistrates' Court, and the Land Court for land matters
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree, usually from a Pacific, New Zealand or Australian university, then admission by the Supreme Court.
What may surprise you
- Its Constitution dates from the nineteenth century and was never replaced by a new one.
- All land belongs to the Crown, and people hold it through allotments from the King or the nobles.
- It was never formally colonised, but it was a British protected state for a time.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Tonga 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 Tonga, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
