Mo yoran and good morning,

Secretary for Justice and Border Control
All Section Heads of various Sections of the Department

I am very honoured to be invited to officially launch the website of the Department of Justice and 
Border Control.

Just let me briefly recall the quest to create a website for the Department of Justice. In perusing 
through the Annual Reports, I have noted that in 2015, when I was the Secretary for Justice, this 
was one of the objectives of the Department. However, a number of developments follow. Today, 
I am very pleased to be officially launching the website as the Minister for Justice and Border 
Control. It is a milestone for the Department. Now the Department is accessible to everybody, 
domestically and internationally, at http://justice.gov.nr/.

The inclusion of all 17 different Sections of the Department under one banner is evidence of the 
hard work put in by those who have been able to successfully complete this project. I am informed 
that the Section Heads have all contributed towards the write up. They have posed the right 
questions to be answered on the website, for members of the public. Furthermore, there are answers 
provided for many of the common questions that people ask. For example, in the case of the 
registration of businesses, the relevant information that needs to be provided, such as ID cards, tax 
numbers, beneficial owners and so forth. The answers to the questions posed have also been 
answered very carefully, with the assistance of the legal team. Appropriate laws are referred to so 
that people are able to understand the reason why certain things are needed or required to be done.

The website provides all the necessary forms for complying with the laws which the Department 
administers. I am informed that the Department under my Ministership is currently administering 
63 out of 190 pieces of the Principal Legislation. That volume speaks a lot. This website puts all 
those pieces of legislation in a very consolidated form for people to have easier access to the law. 
As you are all aware, access to law is only one part, but access to accurate, current, and up-to-date 
laws is another matter. This website brings the latter to all people without any restrictions or cost. 
Nauruans can now enjoy reading all of the laws on the website. There are also procedures provided 
in very plain language on how to fill out forms or attach information.

Another feature of the website is that, it contains all the historical knowledge of the Department. I 
encourage each of you to look for all the historical information you may have about the Department 
or its activities, and have it on the website. The website is also an encyclopedia for all the activities 
of the Department, historical, current, and future. An example of this is shown in the publications 
column, where all the annual reports dating back to 2015 are collated. Historical knowledge of 
Corrections being in the old building moving into the new building is an example of what should 
be on the website.

There is value added to the website, as it provides links to other important websites. This includes 
the Government of Nauru website, Judiciary, Paclii, RONLAW and PILON. We would see this 
link broadened with other Sections linking with other sister organisations so that the website itself 
will be a single source of library for users.

I am very grateful that the Department of Justice has been able to collectively embark on and finish 
this project. I give credit to the expatriate and local staff for working together on projects like this. 
This will no doubt build capacity for the locals. The local capacity is important to ensure that the 
website is updated on a regular basis, and more so with all current news and involvements of the 
Department. This website should not remain static. I encourage local staff to be able to contribute 
and post information for the public on the website.

I am informed by the Secretary that the website is one of the many things that the department has 
to achieve during the term of this Government. This includes the new RONLAW website with 
better search engines, E-Passport, Automated Control Gates for Immigration and, of course, a plan 
to build a new Office so that all the Sections can be housed under one roof. 
I take this opportunity to thank the creators of the website. In particular, I refer to the technicians, 
namely Ruwan and Ravi, who are able to work on this from Sri Lanka. I acknowledge the 
contribution of the President of the Court of Appeal in helping to engage the consultants.

With this, I will now launch the Justice Department website. This launch now expands the 
Department of Justice and Border Control’s service to an online platform. 
Ma Tubwa Kor!