We need to dismantle criminal enterprises, hitting them where it hurts most - Speaker

Speaker of Parliament, Filimone Jitoko has highlighted during the opening of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Conference that there is a need for prosecutors in the country to master the digital frontier, dismantle criminal enterprises, lead with a trauma-informed approach, and perhaps the most profound redefinition will come from addressing a threat that was, until recently, on the periphery of criminal law: climate change.

Jitoko told those attending the conference at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nadi that they must become experts in a domain where evidence is digital, crimes are virtual, and the trail is encrypted.

He says this means going beyond the foundational Cybercrime Act 2021 to confront A.I.-driven crimes, deepfake fraud, and complex crypto-asset flows.

Jitoko stresses that the modern prosecutor must be as fluent in the language of digital forensics as in the rules of evidence.

He adds they must shift our focus from securing convictions, to dismantling the power of organised crime.

Jitoko says this demands the effective use of tools like “Unexplained Wealth Orders” to strip criminals of their illicit gains, hitting them where it hurts most—their wallets/pockets (digital wallets/crypto currency wallets).

The Speaker says the landmark Child Justice Act 2024 requires a prosecutor to be not only a legal technician but also a guardian of the vulnerable.

He says the modern courtroom must be a place where the voices of children and victims are protected, not re-traumatised but this approach should be all embracing and built into all our other new laws and cognisant of the victims and survivors of any traumas, including all the coups and political upheavals of our recent history.

Jitoko adds that the landmark July 2025 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion has irrevocably changed the legal landscape.

He says it has lifted the 1.5°C target from a political aspiration to a legal benchmark, clarifying state obligations to act with due diligence.

Jitoko says for prosecutors, this is no longer a distant diplomatic issue, it has direct implications for their work under Fiji’s Climate Change Act of 2021.

The Speaker says we are entering an era where corporate boards and directors have a heightened duty to incorporate climate risks into their governance.

He says failure to exercise this due diligence, leading to severe environmental damage, could foreseeably become a matter for enforcement and liability.

Jitoko says this is the new frontier of accountability, and the ODPP must be prepared.