Pitcairn appeal argument dismissed as 'unrealistic'

The law lords in London have wasted no time in knocking back a key point in the Pitcairn Island appeal.

The Privy Council has struck down the idea that the remote Pacific territory was never subject to British law, saying the argument that Pitcairn was settled by pirates and had always been self-governing was "unrealistic".

Lawyers for the six men convicted of sex crimes in 2004 are appealing to the council during a two-week hearing that began overnight.

They had tried to argue British law never applied to Pitcairn.

Lawyers are now trying to argue British law was never properly proclaimed.

The hearing is set down for two weeks, but the ruling overnight may cut that down considerably. This is the first time that the constitutional position of the settlement has ever been considered by the British legal team.

- NEWSTALK ZB