In a drunken incident, after being provoked, the defendant hit another person repeatedly with an iron bar, killing him. The jury found him guilty. The Supreme Court of Tonga had to consider whether to sentence the defendant to death or life imprisonment. It chose life imprisonment. In so doing, it made reference to Article 6(1) of the ICCPR, to which Tonga was not a party. Nevertheless, the Court allowed the ICCPR to influence its decision in this first verdict in a murder case in Tongatapu in over twenty years. This was a major departure from prior decisions by Tongan courts, which held the ICCPR to be non-enforcable. Thus, the ICCPR and international human rights standards were gaining influence in Tonga.

[ link ]