The fallout from the sacking of Chief Justice Fatiaki is still being felt today.
Former President of the Fiji Law Society Graham Leung highlighted this at the Visionary Leadership Conference held at the Harbour Point Convention Centre in Lami as part of the Ratu Sukuna Day celebrations.
Leung also lamented that the systematic undermining of the leadership of then Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki led to his forcible removal by an army officer in January 2007.
He said that before the then Chief Justice's removal, the judiciary had become divided and dysfunctional.
He added that the judiciary being one of the three arms of government had an important role to play in interpreting the law.
The former president of the Fiji Law Society says an independent judiciary is vital to maintain public and investor confidence.
While responding to Leung’s remarks, former Chief Justice Daniel Faitaki told the packed conference that over the last sixteen years, the law had been ‘weaponised’ and the rule of law had weakened as a result.
Fatiaki says the law had been applied unequally.
He says the law was the last bastion which protected people's rights, and that the normal remedies for redress open to individuals to challenge government decisions had been denied.
