The judge then looks at the judgement in the old case, and follows it in making his or her decision. If the judge cannot find a case in Tonga to follow, then he will follow English common law and legislation. To find the common law we have to look at the records of old cases in the Tongan Law Reports. These are written down as the stories of people and what happened to them in court, how their case was decided, and why. Custom in relation to the authority of chiefs and nobles, and the holding of property, are now found in the formal laws of Tonga.
Magistrates sit in the subordinate courts.
It also hears civil cases which involve large amounts of money. The job of the courts is to listen to both sides in a case and then to decide what actually happened and who is telling the truth. When the court has decided the facts it will then apply the law to those facts and make a judgement. The criminal courts will listen to the case for the prosecution and the defendant and then decide whether or not he or she has broken the law. The court will look at what actually happened, it will consider the law, and then if the law has been broken the court will punish the offender.