Niue

Constitutional Provisions

Under the 1974 Niue Constitution Act, Niue became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand and Niueans are all New Zealand citizens. The 1974 Constitution is the supreme law of Niue.S. 4, 1974 Niue Constitution Act.The Constitution does not guarantee the protection of human rights or refer to the role of the Niue Police.

Treaty Adherence

Global Treaties

^{* Niue is reportedly bound by human rights treaties to which New Zealand had adhered by 1988, which includes the ICCPR.}

Regional Treaties

There is not yet a regional human rights treaty to which Pacific nations can adhere despite discussions going back decades as to the possibility of establishing a regional mechanism.

National Legislation

Police Use of Force

Under the 1966 Niue Act, a police officer may use reasonable force to effect a search.S. 284(3), 1966 Niue Act.There is no legislation dedicated to regulating the use of force by law enforcement personnel.

Police Oversight

There is no external independent police oversight body in Niue.

Caselaw

Global

In its 2013 Concluding Observations on Niue, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, while noting that the number of juvenile crimes and juvenile offenders was very small and that community-based rehabilitation programmes are often employed when young offenders are involved, remained deeply concerned that:

police officers are not given proper training to effectively deal with juvenile offenders and child victims in a child-sensitive manner.

Regional

There is no regional human rights mechanism governing acts by law enforcement agencies in Niue.

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