Cook Islands
Constitutional structure and position of IHL in domestic law
Since 1965, the Cook Islands have been a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The Queen in right of New Zealand is the head of State. Some competences in the fields of defence and external affairs are delegated to New Zealand.
When New Zealand ratified the Geneva Conventions in 1959, the Cook Islands were covered by New Zealand's ratification and the New Zealand law implementing the Geneva Conventions applied to the Cook Islands (Geneva Conventions Act 1958, section 10). However, New Zealand's instrument of ratification of Additional Protocols I and II stated that it did not apply to the Cook Islands (see Declarations made upon ratification of Additional Protocols I and II). In February 2002, the Cook Islands adopted their own Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols Act. They acceded to the Additional Protocols on 7 May 2002 and declared, at the same time, that they remain bound by the Geneva Conventions (succession as from 11 June 2001, according to the depositary). The Cook Islands accepted the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission under Article 90 of Protocol I on the same day.
