Refugees at Nauru who are gay or attempt suicide can no longer be jailed and men are now outlawed from raping their wives after the island republic updated its antiquated criminal code.
However it is unclear if the Nauru government, which hosts a detention centre funded by Australian taxpayers, has repealed a controversial ban on Facebook which critics said hampered free speech.
Nauru's outdated criminal code had fuelled criticism that the isolated island was not an appropriate place to hold people seeking asylum in Australia.
The Nauru government on Friday announced that the island's Parliament this month passed a number of laws to bring the nation up to international human rights standards.
A new act replaces a former criminal code that dated back to 1899 and was based on old Queensland laws.
Under those laws, a refugee at Nauru was convicted and fined in April for attempted suicide in a move island authorities said was designed to "stamp out the practice".
The revised laws state that suicide is no longer an offence and is considered "more a mental health issue rather than a criminal law issue", the government said in a statement.
The definition of rape has been broadened and is "now applicable to married and de facto couples". Slavery, including forced child labor, has also been outlawed.
Homosexuality is no longer an offence at Nauru. In March two gay refugees at Nauru said they had suffered assaults and were prisoners in their homes, amid widespread social hostility towards homosexuality.
Sentences such as the death penalty, imprisonment with hard labour and solitary confinement have been removed, and penalties for sexual offences, including those relating to children, have been increased.
Abortion remains illegal when not part of a "lawful medical procedure".
In May last year, the Nauru government directed the country's only internet service provider to block access to Facebook, claiming it was part of an online pornography crackdown. Critics said it was an attempt to stifle free speech and prevent the dissemination of negative information about the detention centre.
A response has been sought on whether these laws remain in force.
Recent Nauruan criminal law allowed those engaged in "witchcraft, sorcery" or fortune telling to be sentenced to one year of hard labour.
Two years in prison also awaited any person who published material that exposed foreign princes to "hatred or contempt".
A Nauruan government spokesman said those acts were not included in the new crime laws.
The Government of Nauru said the law changes, which include those promoting gender equality, reflected the nation's "progressive leadership".