Prof. Shameem calls for stepping aside of all public officers especially lawyers named in COI report

As sections of what is claimed to be the official Commission of Inquiry report into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner are heavily circulated online, the Dean of the JDP School of Law the University of Fiji, Professor Shaista Shameem has called for the stepping aside of all public officers, especially those who are lawyers, named in the COI report.

Professor Shameem says the public officers especially those who are lawyers should step aside to allow investigations without interefence in the allegations of unlawful behaviour on their part.

Professor Shameem says she had read parts of the COI report available in the public domain and is shocked that the problem is much worse than she had originally thought.

She says besides the public officers named, including the judiciary, very senior members of the legal fraternity were specifically mentioned in the COI report and it is up to the private bar to seek their suspension from the Fiji Law Society.

Professor Shameem says they should do this as a matter of urgency to ensure that the Fiji Law Society survives otherwise the revelations in the COI report could sound the death knell for the Law Society which would not be fair to the private bar.

Professor Shameem urged the responsible authorities not implicated in the COI report to speedily take action as otherwise instability in the legal system would be inevitable.

According to the document being circulated, the COI recommendations include that all of the potential offences in the events described in the report be investigated by FICAC and/or the Police and if the evidence warrants this prosecuted so long as no evidence taken under the COI is admissible against any person who may be so charged, that all of the files that have been closed under Barbara Malimali’s tenure are reviewed by independent senior counsel, the handling of Malimali’s file by the Office of the DPP and the Police is reviewed by independent senior counsel, the FICAC Act be reviewed including its wide powers, the report is to be made public with the appropriate redactions, and should the report not be made available to the public, the report be made available to each of the witnesses on a confidential basis with the appropriate redactions.

The report also raises serious questions regarding the appointment of Malimali as FICAC Commissioner.

Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka remains silent after sections of the report were circulated online from yesterday.

Rabuka has also not said what he will do as the Police analysis of the COI report has already been submitted to him.

We have also sent the sections of the report being circulated online to the Fiji Law Society.

Questions continue to arise on the veracity of the evidence being talked about in the Commission of Inquiry report as the Commissioner of Inquiry and Supreme Court Judge, David Ashton-Lewis had earlier confirmed that while in a normal court situation, you cannot accept hearsay, he could accept hearsay on hearsay in the COI proceeding.

He said that he regulated the proceedings of the COI, so he did not have to follow any Supreme Court rules.

He said there's no appeal from a decision and the only thing that a Commissioner of Inquiry must observe are the principles of natural justice, that is, any person who is called to appear, or any person who is under investigation, has a right to be heard, usually by counsel, they can appoint counsel, has a right to cross-examine any evidence that is damaging to the person.

Ashton-Lewis added the Commission of Inquiry is not a trial, it's an investigation, and any evidence of a Commission of Inquiry cannot be used in a later case but it's up to the Director of Public Prosecutions to get the police to re-investigate those matters, and if satisfied, the DPP will lay indictments, and then there will be a trial.

Ashton-Lewis says he found there were nine people who had done things such as lied under oath.

He says five people from the government have had terrible accusations made against them, and complaints made to FICAC against them.