Tafaoimalo Tologata Justice Leilani Tuala-Warren has been appointed as a Judge of the Kiribati Court of Appeal for a three-year term through to May 2029, marking a significant achievement for Pacific legal scholarship and regional judicial leadership.
Currently serving as Dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato, Justice Tuala-Warren will undertake her first hearing with the Kiribati Court of Appeal at the end of June.
A formal swearing-in and oath-taking ceremony is expected to be held upon Tologata’s arrival in Tarawa.
As a Justice of the Kiribati Court of Appeal, the highest court in Kiribati, Justice Tuala-Warren will sit alongside two other appointed judges to hear and determine appellate matters during the court’s sessions, which are expected to take place twice annually.
Justice Tologata described the appointment as a prestigious recognition of the calibre of scholarship and teaching within the University of Waikato.
“It reflects the University’s strong commitment to developing legal thinkers who contribute meaningfully beyond Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly within the Pacific region,” she said.
“For Te Piringa Faculty of Law, this appointment underscores the real-world impact of its staff and reinforces its role as a hub for influential, globally engaged legal scholarship.”
Justice Tuala-Warren’s appointment also highlights the growing contribution of Pacific legal professionals within regional judicial systems and strengthens legal ties across the Pacific.
About Justice Tuala-Warren
Tafaoimalo Tologata Professor Leilani Tuala-Warren was appointed Dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law, commencing Monday 1 July 2024.
She has been part of the University of Waikato since the 1990s, when she completed undergraduate and Master of Laws degrees before beginning her legal career in Samoa.
Serving as a State Solicitor in Samoa’s Office of the Attorney-General from 1998 to 2000, she returned to the University to teach for five years before embarking on private practice in Samoa.
In 2009 Professor Tuala-Warren became Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission, before becoming the second woman in Samoa to be appointed as a judge of the District Court several years later.
As a newly appointed judge, she established a Family Court and the only Family Violence Court in the Pacific outside New Zealand.
Appointment as Supreme Court Judge of Samoa followed in 2016, as well as recognition with a University of Waikato Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022.
Justice Tuala-Warren returned again to the University in 2023, becoming New Zealand’s first Pacific woman appointed a Professor of Law and also New Zealand’s first Pacific Dean of Law, while retaining a temporary judicial warrant as a Supreme Court Justice in Samoa.
We are so proud of Professor Tuala-Warren and wish her all the best in her new role.
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