The Wire

The government of Nauru has abolished appeals from the country’s Supreme Court to the High Court of Australia, placing asylum seekers and political protesters in a vulnerable position. Nauru’s President Baron Waqa claimed the government had severed ties with Australia’s judicial system as a necessary “logical step towards full nationhood”. But others question the government’s motives, raising questions as to why the timing follows the High Court rulings of several former Nauruan MPs and the extending influence of executive powers over judiciary.