Attacks on Justice 2002: Fiji

Asia
Issue: Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Document Type: Publication
Date: 2002

Until the 19 May 2000 uprising, the country was governed by a democratically elected government and the judiciary was independent.

Following the uprising, on 29 May 2000 the Fiji military attempted to abolish the 1997 Constitution and began ruling by decree and through a hand-picked “interim civilian government”.

Fiji judges were involved in drafting military decrees immediately after the military take-over, including a decree to fundamentally alter Fiji’s judicial structure.

The Court of Appeal in its landmark decision on 1 March 2001 ruled that the 1997 Constitution guaranteeing equality between ethnic Fijians and Fijians of Indian descent was still in force and that the pre-coup government should be re-called.

Attacks on Justice 2002 – Fiji [full text, PDF]

 

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