A senior barrister sent Grubsheet the following brief but pungent message after the High Court Judge, Justice Dane Tuiqereqere, delivered his ruling yesterday on the attempt by MP Ketan Lal to derail the government’s timetable for the introduction of the new Constitution.
He has a point, don’t you think, Fiji?
It is the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, who allocates cases to the various High Court Judges.
He gave Dane Tuiqereqere carriage of the case against the Ashton-Lewis Commission of Inquiry into the Malimali affair in which, astonishingly, Tuiqereqere declared the whole thing null and void. The COI Report included a finding that the Chief Justice was open to charges of perjury and obstructing and perverting the course of justice.
Tuiqereqere’s judgment shutting the whole thing down is now to be dissected by at least three other judges on the Court of Appeal after the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, took exception to aspects of it relating to his own conduct. We will find out in due course whether Tuiqereqere’s findings survive the blow-torch of a high level judicial review.
But why would Salesi Temo give Tuiqereqere carriage of yet another highly contentious and highly political case? It is one that directly affects the government’s stated timetable to have a new constitution ready by Christmas. And the novice judge (November 2023) and personal accident compensation specialist has just removed a major potential impediment to the government’s plans.
Wouldn’t it have been prudent under the circumstances for the Chief Justice not to select a judge already embroiled in controversy to hear yet another contentious matter? As our barrister says: “Are there no other judges in Fiji?” Or is the more pertinent question: “Are their no other judges in Fiji who can be depended on to handle such a case?”
There’s an old saying in the law. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. And in rapid succession in Fiji, we have had two instances in which doubt has been cast on the integrity of the system.
The same person who quashed the CoI has now quashed an attempt to delay the imposition of a new supreme law. And it cannot be a surprise to anyone that it is raising collective eyebrows.
Here’s Justice Tuiqereqere’s judgment in the Ketan Lal case. Decide for yourself, Fiji. But whatever the quality of the judgment, appearances matter. And all in all, it hasn’t been a good look if confidence in the system also matters.
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