Justice Mohammed Shafiullah Khan

Justice Mohammed Shafiullah Khan, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru as well as its longest serving judge, was appointed as the President of the Nauru Court of Appeal in March 2026. He served on the Supreme Court of Nauru from 2014 to 2024, and frequently took on the role of the Chief Justice from 2016 to 2024.

He presided over complex constitutional, land, civil and criminal cases. He took the lead role in establishing the Refugee Appeal Courts in Nauru and several of his judgments were upheld by the High Court of Australia on appeal. He presided in the Court of Disputed Returns on election petitions following the general elections in 2016 and 2022.

In August 2024, he was appointed to the Kiribati Court of Appeal where he had the honour of dealing with important constitutional cases in the Court of Appeal.

In August 2025, he was appointed to the National and Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea for a three-year term. He resigned to take up the position of the President of the Nauru Court of Appeal.

He graduated in 1978 when he completed his Bar at Law examination with the Council of Legal Education. He is a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

He practiced law in Fiji from 1979 to 1989 when he migrated to Australia where he worked as a solicitor from 1989 to 1996. From 1996 to 2009, he served as a magistrate in Fiji and from 2010 to 2014, he served as a magistrate advisor to the Solomon Islands.

With more than 46 years of legal and judicial experience across Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Queensland, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru, Justice Khan has established a distinguished career dedicated to the administration of justice, judicial excellence, and court innovation