The new $29 million state-of-the-art Ba Court which also has a High Court has officially been opened today to deliver justice to the people of Ba, Tavua and Rakiraki.
While opening the new facility, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says over the years, during heavy rain, the courthouse would be inundated and given that challenge, it was decided that a new Ba Court facility should be built away from the flood-prone zone.
He says court operations commenced from this new, fully-fledged court facility in May of this year.
Rabuka says the new Ba High Court can also preside on appeals for the Central Agricultural Tribunal, civil and criminal matters, and family court appeals.
He says two Resident Magistrates will preside over the family, criminal and civil matters in the new facility.
Rabuka also acknowledged other improvements in the judiciary that improve access to justice for the people, with consequential improvement for investment climate and the economy.
The Prime Minister also highlighted that the judiciary's backlog of cases has vastly decreased for the past 22 months.
He says the number of appointed Judges increased to 25, with three new positions established, while the number of Magistrates has increased to 43.
Rabuka says it could also bear an indication of the increase in criminal activities in Fiji but he hopes it's not that.
He further says Fiji now also has two Resident Judges of Appeal, with a new position established in the last financial year and since 2023, there are four Supreme Court sittings and five Court of Appeals sitting in a year.
This has had a tremendously positive effect in the disposal of pending cases which has been made possible with the appointment of ad hoc sitting judges from New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Rabuka further says in addition to streamlined court procedures and reduced delays in civil disputes, the High Court Rules Review was approved by Cabinet last year.
He says the Rules Review Committee have deliberated, and their proposal for the drafting of new Court and Magistrate Court rules has been handed to the Attorney General.
Rabuka says it is anticipated that a reference will then be made to the Fiji Law Reform Commission.
He adds the Acting Chief Justice has introduced a manual case management system to monitor the progress and disposal of pending decisions from the Tribunals, Magistrate Court and High Court.
The Prime Minister adds the Acting Chief Justice visits the three divisions twice a year, conducting case management meetings and urging judicial officers to progress the disposal of pending cases.
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