Kiribati 1979
The first constitution of Kiribati came into force on July 12, 1979, when the country achieved independence from the United Kingdom. The Gilbert Islands colony received internal self-government on January 1, 1977 after negotiations in London between the British government and a delegation from the Gilbert House of Assembly on July 14-15, 1976. These interim arrangements remained in force until independence in 1979.
Development of the independence constitution began in 1976 with a series of seminars on constitutional law held in the capital, Tarawa, and an extension effort to reach out to the other islands. From April 21 to May 9, 1977, a constitutional convention met on Tarawa for a period of three weeks to discuss the principles that should form the basis of the constitution. The convention had 169 delegates, including all senior elected and appointed office-holders, representatives of civil society, and delegates from every island. The convention largely operated by consensus, but at times resorted to voting. All meetings were open to the public. While the membership was diverse, some felt that the traditional leaders in attendance dominated the debates. The constitutional convention was purely advisory, but its recommendations carried great moral authority and became the basis of the independence constitution.
The 22-member Gilbert House of Assembly considered the recommendations of the convention, first in a select committee and then as a whole, making changes to some provisions designed to allow greater participation by those on outlying islands. After elections for an enlarged 37-member House of Assembly on February 1, 1978, the proposals were reconsidered and some convention proposals were restored before the assembly approved the draft in August 1978.
As was common practice in British decolonization processes, a constitutional conference for Kiribati was held in London from November 21 to December 7, 1978. The British delegation had 33 members, the Kiribati delegation 27, and the Banabans 13. The conference met in private and considered the constitutional provisions section by section. The most contentious issue was the status of Ocean Island. The Banaban delegation walked out of the conference after the British government decided that Ocean Island would remain part of Kiribati. Nevertheless, the conference added a chapter creating a special status for Banabans in the constitution. After the conference concluded, British legal experts drafted the statutory language that became the actual text of the constitution.
Ratification of the constitution required the approval of both the Kiribati House of Assembly and the British Parliament. The former approved the draft on May 1, 1978, while the latter approved the Kiribati Bill in June 1978. The constitution was proclaimed as secondary legislation under the Kiribati Bill, in the form of a schedule to a British order-in-council. Members of the British parliament attempted to amend the draft constitution in favor of the Banabans, but their proposal was defeated by a vote of 143 to 50.