Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is urging law firms to strengthen their understanding of construction laws.

This comes after some donors’ encountered issues while working with certain construction companies.

Sayed-Khaiyum says most law firms in Fiji lack the knowledge of construction laws.

“Some donors actually have issues with some construction companies where they weren’t able to do things on time. Materials use to disappear. Again I think the legal profession has a major role to play. If you go to most of the law firms in Fiji, they would hardly know anything about construction law. The ability to understand things like the legal standards that have already been established in Australia and New Zealand is not there at all.”

He is urging law firms to look into the legal side of things within the construction industry to help improve service delivery.

“I made a plea to the Law Firms about two years ago for law firms in Fiji to start specializing in different areas. I wouldn’t even be fine with the road construction works that are going on in Fiji. That level of sophistication is not even there within the law firms for them to understand the nuances within contracts that deal with construction.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji has a long way to go in terms of understanding the level of sophistication involved in construction laws.