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Former Attorney-General Graham Leung and prominent Suva lawyer Richard Naidu say Fiji is facing a critical constitutional moment and leaders must be clear about what is required to move certain issues forward.

In a joint statement, the two lawyers say that the President must act on the recommendations of the Judicial Services Commission on the acting Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, Lavi Rokoika and that he must do so without conditions, without bargaining and without delay.

The two also say that it is now an open secret that the JSC has recommended the termination of Rokoika’s appointment as a result of the High Court judgment of 2 February.

The duo understand this was conveyed to the President on Monday this week adding that it seems equally clear from media reports that the President has declined to act on that recommendation.

Leung and Naidu say that the President has reportedly required that Rokoika receive compensation before he revokes her appointment.

According to the duo, Rokoika is the acting Commissioner of FICAC, her appointment is temporary and that she is not entitled to compensation when her appointment ends.

They cited Sections 81 and 82 of the Constitution, stating that the President exercises executive authority only on advice and does not have discretion to negotiate or impose conditions when acting on recommendations from constitutional bodies such as the JSC.

Leung and Naidu claim that if he is being advised otherwise, he is being wrongly advised.

The two further state that the President is Fiji’s head of state and under Section 81 of the Constitution he “exercises the executive power of the State and so he is in a powerful role.

They say the President appoints the Prime Minister, Cabinet, all key public office holders but in a democratic republic, which Fiji is supposed to be, the President exercises that power only in the name of the people and only when and how the people’s constitutional bodies require him to exercise it.

Those constitutional bodies include the JSC.

They also stated that the situation arose because Rokoika has remained in office despite the High Court ruling, which they claim made clear her appointment was not lawful.

Leung and Naidu says the honorable course of action would be for Rokoika to resign in order to avoid what they describe as a potential constitutional crisis.
Questions have been sent to the Presidents Office.

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