JSC hits back at Seruiratu’s COI remarks

If unwarranted and uninformed attacks against the recommendations and findings of the Commission of Inquiry Report into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner continue, we have instructions to institute contempt of court proceedings, especially against those who are using the news media and social media to interfere with the current court proceedings.

This warning came in a statement by lawyer Isireli Fa, head of Fa & Company, speaking on behalf of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and its officers, responding to an article in the Fiji Times on October 7, 2025, titled “COI on Legal Chaos”, which quoted Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu criticizing Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for a perceived late response to the recommendations and findings of the COI Report.

Fa says he was disappointed at Seruiratu’s demand that the government act immediately on the COI findings and recommendations and accused Seruiratu and others of “weaponizing a very flawed COI Report” for political ends and using it as a “Trojan horse” to push a partisan agenda.

He says the JSC had filed judicial review proceedings last month on the 17th, challenging the COI’s findings and recommendations.

Fa says the JSC and its officers have raised serious complaints against the COI Report, alleging misconduct in the ways the COI arrived at its conclusions and assertions.

He defended the rights of the JSC and its officers to challenge the COI findings, saying that the report “maligns their professionalism, character, and credibility.” Fa adds the offices of the Prime Minister and the President are acting lawfully by allowing the legal challenge to proceed.