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Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (Amendment) Act 1990

REPUBLIC OF NAURU

NAURU PHOSPHATE ROYALTIES TRUST ACT (AMENDMENT) ACT
(No. 4 of 1990)

AN ACT

To amend the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Ordinance 1968

(Certified: 16^th October 1990)

BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of Nauru as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Act (Amendment) Act 1990.

(2) The Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Ordinance 1968 is in this Act called "the Principal Act".

(3) The Principal Act as amended by this Act may be cited as the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Act 1968-1990.

NEW SECTION 18

2. For section 18 of the Principal Act substitute:

"LONG TERM INVESTMENT FUND

18. (1) The Long Term Investment Fund established by Article 62 shall be administered by the Trust.

(2) Subject to the provisions of Article 62, the Long Term Investment Fund shall be administered in accordance with this Act.

(3) Cabinet may determine, by notice published in the Gazette and laid before Parliament on the next sitting day of Parliament after it is made, that the recovery of the phosphate deposits in Nauru has, by reason of the depletion of those deposits, ceased to provide adequately for the economic needs of the citizens of Nauru".

NAURUAN LAND OWNERS ROYALTY TRUST FUND

3. For sections 19(2) to 19(7) inclusive substitute-

"(2) In this section the expression "Ronwan Interest" means the dividends, interests and net rents earned by that fund in respect of each year ending on the 30th day of June, less any costs and expenses incurred by the Trust in accordance with section 32.

(3) The Ronwan Interest earned by the Fund after the first day of July 1989 and until 30 June 1990 and for each 12 months ending 30 June thereafter shall be ascertained by the Trust and applied in the manner herein provided.

(4) On or before 31 October of each year but subject to any extension granted by the Minister and notified in the Gazette, the Trust shall (upon such prove as the Trust shall with the approval of the Minister determine) issue each beneficiary, or where there is a trustee for a beneficiary to the trustee, a statement of the beneficiary's account in such form as the Minister shall approve.

(5) Subject to any direction given in accordance with subsection (7) the Trust shall (in such manner and upon such proof of entitlement as the Trust, with the approval of the Minister, determines) pay to each beneficiary, or where there is a trustee for a beneficiary, to the trustee at the time of issue of the statement pursuant to subsection (4) or if the statement is issued before 31 October, not later than that date, the Ronwan Interest credited to the account of the beneficiary in respect of the preceding year ended on 30 June.

(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) hereof a beneficiary of the Fund is a person who, on and after the first day of July 1967, is entitled to the beneficial interest in land in respect of which royalties for phosphate which has been or is mined on the land are held in the Fund;

(b) A person who is entitled to a life time interest only in any land as aforesaid is, while living, a beneficiary of the Fund, in respect of the Ronwan Interest, to the exclusion of the person who has the beneficial interest in the land.

(7) (a) A beneficiary of the Fund over the age of 18 years may, at any time, charge his entitlement to Ronwan Interest and the Trust shall take notice of and comply with any direction pursuant to such charge as to the payment of money to which he is entitled, which direction is made in writing, in a form approved by the Minister and notified in the Gazette and which is delivered to the Trust at least 14 days before the trust completes arrangements to make payment to beneficiaries in accordance with sub-section (5);

(b) A direction shall relate to Ronwan Interest payable subsequently to the receipt by the Trust of the direction;

(c) A direction may be made for a time certain and may be made to be irrevocable without the written consent of the person in whose favour it is made.

(8) The Trust may recover in the District Court any moneys paid by mistake to any person whether that person is a beneficiary or not.

(9) For the purposes of any written law and any custom of the Nauruan people, the interest of a beneficiary in the Fund is real property and the interest of a life tenant and of a beneficiary in the Ronwan Interest of the Fund is personal property.

(10) (a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in any written law, upon the death of a beneficiary and before the estate of the deceased is finally distributed any payment made pursuant to subsection (5) shall be made to the Curator of Interstate Estates.

(b) Upon the death of a beneficiary with a life time interest only, the interest of the beneficiary in the Fund ceases forthwith but any Ronwan Interest which is payable in respect of the year ended 30 June preceding the date of death shall form part of the estate of the deceased and shall be paid accordingly."

NEW SECTION 19A

4. After Section 19 insert:

"PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

19A (1) Where the President is satisfied that a beneficiary of the Nauruan Landowners Royalty Trust Fund (in this section called "the Fund") is a person who is-

(a) the sole owner of a Portion of land in respect of which he is a beneficiary of the Fund; and

(b) has no living next of kin (other than a spouse) who would in the normal course of events have any expectation of inheriting from the estate of the beneficiary (whether according to the customs and usages of the Nauruan people or otherwise); and

(c) is a person of such age that the likelihood of such circumstances changing appears to the President to be remote the President may by order consent to a request by such beneficiary that part of the interest of the beneficiary in the Fund be paid to the beneficiary at such time, in such amount, and at such place as the President in his order may direct.

(2) The Trust must upon receipt of an order of the President, made in accordance with sub-section (1) give effect to that order."

NEW SECTION 22

5. For section 22 of the Principal Act substitute-

"INTERPRETATION

22. In this Part a reference to a fund is reference to-

(a) a fund established by or under this Act;

(b) a fund established by or under the Nauru Phosphate Royalties (Payment and Investment) Act and administered by the Trust; or

(c) a fund established by the Council and placed by the Council under the administration of the Trust;

(d) any other fund administered by the Trust pursuant to this Act or any other written law or any deed or declaration of trust appointing the Trust as trustee."

NEW SECTION 23

6. For Section 23 substitute-

"FUNCTIONS OF THE TRUST AND MATTERS TO WHICH THE TRUST MUST HAVE REGARD IN CARRYING OUT ITS FUNCTIONS

23 (1) The Trust in dealing with any fund which constitutes moneys of the Republic, and in particular with the Long Term Investment Fund, the Nauru Rehabilitation Fund and the Nauru Housing Fund, does so for the benefit of the citizens of Nauru and is responsible to the Parliament, through Cabinet, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, for-

(a) the administration of the Funds; and

(b) the protection and preservation of the corpus of the Funds.

(2) The Trust in dealing with any fund other than a fund referred to in subsection (1) does so as trustee for the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the fund in accordance with the provisions of any applicable law or of any deed settlement or other document establishing the fund and the appointment of the Trust as trustee thereof, and the Trust is in accordance therewith responsible for-

(a) the administration of such fund; and

(b) the protection and preservation of the corpus thereof.

(3) The Trust is required to exercise its power of management and investment with the diligence, skill and fiduciary care that a prudent person of business would exercise in managing the affairs of others.

(4) For the purposes of performing its functions under this Act, the Trust has the powers conferred upon it by this Act and such other powers as are necessary for the performance of its functions."

AUDIT AND REPORTS

7. After section 29(6) insert the following-

"(7) The Trust shall cause the books of account of the fund or funds for which it is responsible to be audited, by the auditor appointed pursuant to sub-section (1), each year as soon as practicable after the 30th day of June and shall cause the land ownership records of beneficiaries of the Nauruan Landowners Royalty Trust Fund to be audited by the auditor aforesaid or another auditor appointed in like manner.

(8) The Trust shall before 30th September in each year (or at such later date as the Minister may approve, which approval shall be notified to Parliament on the next following sitting day of Parliament) prepare and submit to the Minister, who shall lay the same before Parliament on the next sitting day of Parliament a report on the activities of the funds in the preceding twelve months and the accounts of the funds so as to present fairly and informatively the results of the financial and other transactions and activities of the Trust in relation to the funds in the preceding twelve months, and such report shall-

(i) be signed by the Chairman and a member of the Trust who shall certify that in their opinion and financial statements truly and fairly present the results of the financial transactions of the funds during the financial year to which they relate and the financial position of the funds at the end of that year;

(ii) state whether that the date of signing the financial statements, they were aware of any circumstances that would render any particular included in the statements misleading or inaccurate, and if so, particulars of the circumstances; and

(iii) have annexed to it the report of the auditor or auditors.

(9) The auditor responsible for auditing the Trust's records of land ownership in respect of beneficiaries of the Nauruan Landowners Royalty Trust Fund shall inter alia, state in his report whether those records are correct and in accordance with the records of the land ownership provided to the Trust and whether the records of land ownership provided to the Trust are true and correct and for this purpose the auditor shall have free access to the records of the Republic as he may require to verify the accuracy of the records of the Trust."

NEW SECTION 32

8. For section 32 of the Principal Act substitute-

"COSTS OF ADMINISTRATION

32. The costs of administration and other expenses (including taxes, rates, charges, duties and other like amounts and commissions and fees) incurred by the Trust on behalf of the funds shall be paid from moneys appropriated by Parliament from the Treasury Fund but such appropriation shall not be made to the extent that such costs and expenses are paid by deduction or set-off upon receipt of relevant income by the Trust."

NEW SECTIONS 32A AND 32B

9. After section 32 of the Principal Act insert-

"PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS

32A. The members of the Trust shall not be personally liable for any act or omission done or omitted to be done in the bona fide exercise or purported exercise of their powers and duties as members or directors or as other office-bearers of corporations with which the Trust is associated, and they shall be indemnified by the Republic in respect of any liability howsoever incurred in connection with any such act or omission.

CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS OF BENEFICIARIES

32B. (1) Save as required under this Act or regulations made hereunder no person who is or who has been a member of the Trust or an officer or employee of the Trust shall supply or reveal in Nauru or elsewhere to any person other than to a beneficiary of the Nauru Land Owners Royalty Trust Fund or as such beneficiary may direct, any information relating to the account of any such beneficiary.

Penalty: 6 months imprisonment or $5,000.

(2) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, a member of the Trust or an officer or employee of the Trust may supply or reveal to an auditor, or employee of any auditor, employed to audit the books of account and transactions of the Trust or to any other member of the Trust of officer or employee of the Trust such information as may be reasonably necessary to enable such person to carry out their duties as such auditor, employee of an auditor, member of the Trust, officer or employee.

(3) Nothing herein shall prevent a member of the Trust or officer or employee of the Trust from producing in Court, in accordance with a valid subpoena or other order of the Court, or with the consent of the beneficiary concerned, any such information as aforesaid."

NEW SECTION 34

10. The following section is inserted immediately after section 33:-

"COMMENCEMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

34 (1) The Principal Act came into full force and effect on 28 January 1968.

(2) Every court of law shall be bound by the above declaration."

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