Judiciary Is Independent

The judiciary in Fiji is independent as any other jurisdiction and it always has been and will always remain independent.

Those were the words of the single judge of the Appeals Court Justice Ian Lloyd today as he presided over the appeal filed by former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and others against the High Court ruling delivered in favor of the Interim Prime Minister and others last month.

Before convening his court, Judge Lloyd insisted that all media personnel be present to witness the proceedings after reports earlier this week criticized Judge Justice Filimoni Jitoko who had called the case regarding the stay on the People’s Charter case behind closed doors.

Judge Lloyd referred to a news article and stressed that all court proceedings must be open to the press and members of the media as has been the practice for centuries.

He said unless there are very compelling reasons given, all court proceedings must be conducted in open court which is entirely in accordance to the independence of the judiciary.

The judge then proceeded to consult lawyer for the SDL Qoriniasi Bale and state solicitor Sarvada Sharma on the dates to take the appeal to hearing and stressed that due to the importance of the appeal to the public and the nation, the case must be dealt with as expeditiously as possible.

Both parties have been given dates to file submissions and responses starting from December 19th and the case is adjourned till 3pm tomorrow to confirm the hearing date for the appeal which is expected in late March.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that NSW barrister Bret Walker will be senior counsel for SDL in the appeal while QC Gerrad McCay will represent the state.