Fiji

Legal tradition

Fiji belongs to the common law with customary law tradition. English common law received during the colonial period from 1874, continued after independence in 1970 and after Fiji became a republic in 1987. Fiji is the regional legal hub of the Pacific: Suva hosts the University of the South Pacific law school and the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. The system's two defining features are the 2013 Constitution, drafted and promulgated by the government that took power in the 2006 coup, and the constitutional inalienability of iTaukei land, which covers roughly 88% of the country and can only be leased through the iTaukei Land Trust Board.

How power is divided

Unitary and deliberately centralised. Section 1 declares Fiji a sovereign state whose Parliament legislates for the whole country; there are no provinces with legislative power. The 14 provincial councils and the iTaukei Affairs Board administer indigenous affairs under the iTaukei Affairs Act. Rotuma has a distinct status under the Rotuma Act.

Where law comes from

The 2013 Constitution

Supreme law; inconsistent legislation is invalid.

Acts of Parliament

Unicameral Parliament; decrees made between 2009 and 2014 remain in force as written law.

Common law and equity

Received English law as developed by Fijian courts.

iTaukei custom

Governs iTaukei land and chiefly title, applied by the iTaukei Land Commission and the iTaukei Lands Appeals Tribunal.

The legal profession

A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act 2009: practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice as barristers and solicitors. Most qualify through the University of the South Pacific law degree followed by the Professional Diploma in Legal Practice. Admission and discipline are handled by the Chief Registrar and the Independent Legal Services Commission rather than by the Fiji Law Society, which is a voluntary professional body.