A wholesale change of the 2013 Constitution is needed – Prof. Regan

Australian National University Professor of Constitutional Law Anthony James Regan says a wholesale change of the 2013 Constitution is needed.

While responding to a question from the public during a Constitutional Forum held at the FNU Nasinu Campus on why Fiji needs a Constitution, Professor Regan says if Fiji decides to go down the path of getting a vote in parliament, changing the electoral system, and trying to go to the triple absolute majority vote, as required by section 160, once that's gone, they can do a wholesale amendment or partial amendment.

He says a wholesale change of the constitution is needed, but we have to do it in ways that would have the interest of the people.

He further says the main reason most countries have written constitutions is to provide a degree of certainty on the most controversial matters, and its advantage is that it protects the hard-won compromises on the essential things about how we organise our society.