Speaker of Parliament, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has stressed that all parliaments in the past and the current parliament have and will continue to get independent legal advice from the Solicitor General’s Office.
Speaking to Fijivillage, Ratu Epeli says the National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad knows that the Speaker always gets independent legal advice from the Solicitor General’s Office.
This follows Professor Prasad’s public call to the Speaker to stop getting legal advice from the Solicitor General’s Office.
However, the Speaker stresses that this will continue to happen and it will also happen in the future.
Professor Biman Prasad says they have been calling for the change since 2014.
Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau had also said that even under the 1997 constitution, parliamentary counsels were always employees appointed by the Solicitor General, and any advice by the counsels were given under the authority and sanction of the Solicitor General.
It has also been made clear that the Solicitor General is responsible under the constitution for providing independent legal advice to all public offices, including parliament, as well as for drafting laws.
Solicitor General, Sharvada Sharma
