Constitution of Fiji: Chapter 7
Encyclopedia
Chapter 7: Executive Government. Chapter 7 of the Fiji Constitution
is titled Executive Government. There are five Parts, further subdivided into thirty sections, which set out the organization, functions, and responsibilities of the executive branch of government. Modeled on the Westminster system
, Fiji's constitution does not separate the Executive and Legislative branches of government as strictly as do many democracies, but despite considerable overlap, the branches of government are nevertheless constitutionally distinct.
Part 1 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 85 through 88, establishes the offices of President and Vice-President and briefly summarizes their functions and responsibilities, on which the remainder of the chapter elaborates.
Sections 85 through 87 declare the President to be Fiji's Head of State, in whom executive authority is "vested." Later sections reveal this authority to be largely, though not entirely, symbolic. The President is further declared to be the symbol of the unity of the State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the military forces
.
Section 88 establishes the office of Vice-President, who is empowered to take over the functions of the President in the event of the President being absent or otherwise unable to carry out his duties. If the President and Vice-President are both unable to perform Presidential duties, the Speaker of the House of Representatives
may carry out the necessary functions.
In the event of the death, resignation, or incapacitation of the President, a new President and Vice-President must be appointed within three months. The Vice-President is authorized to exercise the functions of the presidency while the office is vacant. The Vice-President may be a candidate to fill the vacancy, but does not automatically succeed to it. This stipulation is designed to remove any vested interest a disloyal Vice-President might potentially have of producing a vacancy in the Presidency.
In practice, on the two occasions that the Presidency has fallen vacant (as of September 2004), the Vice-President has, after performing the President's functions in an interim capacity, been duly appointed to fill the vacancy. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
died in 1993 and was succeeded by his Vice-President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
. Mara was deposed in the Fiji coup of 2000
, but after the Constitution was restored and Mara declined reappointment, his Vice-President, Josefa Iloilo
was appointed to succeed him.
Sections 89 through 91 stipulate that the President and Vice-President shall be appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs
"after consultation with the Prime Minister." It is not clear whether or not this clause gives the Prime Minister a veto. It has never been tested.
The President and Vice-President are required to be Fijian citizens who have had a distinguished career in any aspect of national or international life, whether in the public or private sectors, and must meet the qualifications required of candidates for the House of Representatives. The offices of President and Vice-President are incompatible with any other offices; appointment to either position automatically terminates one's service in whatever other office he or she might be serving in at the time. The term of office is five years, renewable once.
Section 92 provides for the replacement of the Vice-President in the event of the office becoming vacant. The President nominates another person to complete the unexpired term of the Vice-President, subject to the approval of the Great Council of Chiefs.
Section 93 authorizes the Great Council of Chiefs to removed the President or Vice-President from office for "infirmity of body or mind... or for misbehaviour." This is not an easy process, however. First, the Prime Minister must notify the Chief Justice
that he considers the President or Vice-President unable to carry out his duties or unfit to remain in office. In the event of alleged physical or mental infirmity, the Chief Justice is required to establish a medical board consisting of three qualified medical practitioners; in the event of alleged treason, felony, bribery, or other misbehaviour, a tribunal of three persons, each of whom is eligible to be a judge, is to be appointed. After makings thorough investigation, the medical board or tribunal is to present its findings to the Great Council of Chiefs, whose decision is final.
Section 94 requires that the President and Vice-President must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oaths relating to their respective offices; these are set out later in the Constitution. The oaths are to be administered by the Chief Justice.
The authorizing of only one person (namely, the Chief Justice) is designed to forestall legal recognition of any Presidential or Vice-Presidential oath administered illegally, as happened in the 2000 coup, when Ratu Jope Seniloli
(an accomplice of the coup's chief instigator, George Speight
) was administered the Presidential oath of office by someone other than the Chief Justice. On 6 August 2004, he was convicted of treason for swearing an unconstitutional oath.
Section 96 allows the Parliament to make laws, subject to the Constitution, "relating to the appointment, the terms and conditions of office, including pension entitlements, and the procedures for removal, of the President and Vice-President."
Part 3 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 97 through 109, establishes the Cabinet
as the effective government of Fiji. This follows Westminster practice: in the Cabinet, collectively, makes executive decisions and its members exercise executive authority in the name of the President.
Section 96 curtails the power of the President to act independently. In the exercise of powers, the President is to act "only on the advice of the Cabinet or a Minister or of some other body or authority prescribed by this Constitution." The Constitution does, however, go on to specify a few carefully defined exceptions to this rule.
Sections 97 through 99 declare that governments (namely, Cabinets) must have the confidence of the House of Representatives. The appointment of the Prime Minister is one of the few areas in which the President is authorized to exercise "his or her own judgement". This is immediately qualified, however: the person the President chooses must be "the member of the House of Representatives who, in the President's opinion, can form a government that has the confidence of the House of Representatives." Significantly, the clause states, not "a" member but "the" member, therefore assuming that in the normal course of events, there will be only one such candidate. In the Westminster model, this is assumed to be the leader of the political party or coalition holding a majority of seats in the House of Representatives. In cases where no legislative majority exists, however, due to party splits (as happened in 1992) or to electoral fragmentation, the President must exercise personal discretion and appoint as Prime Minister the person he or she considers most likely hold the confidence of the House of Representatives.
The Cabinet, whose members must also be members of either the House of Representatives or the Senate
, is to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet must reflect the composition of the House of Representatives: every political party with eight or more seats in the House is entitled, if willing, to a proportionate number of positions in the Cabinet. If the Prime Minister wishes to include ministers from a political party or parties holding fewer than eight seats, the appointments must be at the expense of his own party, not other parties entitled to cabinet representation. In selecting minister from political parties other than his own, the Prime Minister is to consult with the leaders of those parties.
The provision for a multiparty cabinet was a departure from the usual Westminster model, which Fiji had previously followed. As political parties in Fiji have in practice represented mostly ethnic rather than ideological interests, elections tended to result in a government with little representation from outside of its ethnic power base. The Mara government
(1967-1987) was supported mostly by ethnic Fijians and minority groups
, but never succeeded in attracting more than a quarter of the Indo-Fijian vote. The Bavadra government
, which took office following the 1987 election
, was supported by no more than 9% of the ethnic Fijian electorate, although Prime Minister Bavadra was himself an ethnic Fijian. Cabinets, always drawn from the caucus of the governing party, therefore tended to be ethnically lopsided, which aroused resentment among the ethnic groups that were underrepresented. This was a leading factor in the 1987 coup: the election of the Bavadra government, which included only four ethnic Fijian ministers, had provoked a month of increasingly disorderly protests which culminated in the coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
. The 1997 constitutional convention decided that a multiparty cabinet would be the best way of ensuring representation of all ethnic communities, as well as of encouraging cooperation among their leaders. The concept of a Consociational state was regarded as the ideal to work for.
Interestingly, the constitutional convention that decided on the multiparty cabinet model coincided with a similar series of negotiations that were taking place in Northern Ireland
, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement providing, among other things, for a power-sharing Executive
in which all significant willing parties were to be represented, in order to ensure the representation at Executive level of Catholic, as well as Protestant, parties. Fiji's decision to follow a similar course was another reflection of its faith in British constitutional models: while the standard Westminster cabinet model was rejected as unsuited to local conditions, alternative models rooted in British practice were studied, and one was adopted.
In practice, this constitutional requirement for a multiparty cabinet has never been strictly observed. After the 1999 election
, Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
refused to include his defeated foes, the Fijian Political Party, in his Cabinet, despite its holding of eight seats in the House of Representatives. Following the 2001 election
, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
found pretexts for excluding the Labour Party
from the Cabinet, even though it had won 28 seats, almost four times more than the constitutional requirement for automatic inclusion in the Cabinet. Court cases followed, and on 18 July 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusion of the Labour Party was unconstitutional and demanded that the situation be rectified. Negotiations, appeals, and counter-appeals stalled the resolution of the dispute, and a subsequent Supreme Court ruling in June 2004 held that the Labour Party was entitled to 14 out of 30 cabinet positions. Qarase announced that he would abide by the verdict, but his continuing refusal to include Chaudhry himself in the Cabinet has prolonged the dispute. As of September 2004, the matter is far from resolved.
Section 100 establishes the office of the Attorney-General, who is the chief legal adviser to the government. Although a member of the Cabinet, the Attorney-General's office is the only Cabinet position, apart from that of the Prime Minister, to be mentioned specifically in the Constitution. This position differs from other Cabinet posts in several important ways. Unlike other Cabinet ministers, who are not required to have any particular educational qualifications, the Attorney-General, or any person acting in that capacity, must be a barrister and solicitor qualified and registered to practice law in Fiji. The Attorney-General is also the only member of the Cabinet who, although a member of one house of Parliament, may attend and participate in the proceedings of (but not vote in) the other house. In the event of the Attorney-General's absence, their responsibilities may be taken over by another minister or member of Parliament, who must meet the qualifications for Attorney-General, or by the Solicitor-General.
Sections 101 through 106 set out the responsibilities and functions of Cabinet ministers. Ministers may have whatever functions, titles, and responsibilities the Prime Minister may determine, and are responsible for one or more branches of government. Any part of government business not specifically assigned to a particular minister is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. All ministers are individually and collectively responsible to, and must hold the confidence of, the House of Representatives.
A Minister must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office, set out in a later section of the constitution, before the President. The taking of such an oath before anyone other than the lawful President, or someone authorized to act on his behalf, constitutes an act of treason, and on 6 August 2004 several defendants, including Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure
(the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
), were convicted of treason for having taken an illegal oath of office during the 2000 coup
. (They had been sworn in by Ratu Seniloli
).
Section 104 requires the Prime Minister to keep the President "generally informed about issues relating to the governance of Fiji." In addition, the Prime Minister must supply whatever specific information the President may ask for.
Section 105 specifies the circumstances in which a minister may leave office. Except in the case of the expiry or dissolution of the House of Representatives, in which case all ministers remain in office pending the appointment of a new cabinet, a minister may leave office by resignation either from the office itself or from the Parliament, membership of which is a prerequisite for membership of the Cabinet. In the event of the dismissal or resignation of the Prime Minister, the tenure of all other ministers is automatically terminated.
Section 106 provides for the appointment of "Acting Ministers" to take over the functions of any minister on an interim basis, in the event of the minister being unable to carry out their duties on account of sickness, absence from Fiji, or any other case. The appointment of an Acting Minister must be published in the government's official Gazette.
Sections 107 through 109 specify the rules for the transfer of authority from one government to another, for the organizing of premature parliamentary elections, and for dismissal of a Prime Minister. If the government is defeated in a general election, the Prime Minister must resign. If the government is defeated in a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives (as happened in 1994), or if the House rejects "A bill appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary services of the Government," the Prime Minister must advise the President on whether there is another person who can command a legislative majority, and if so, resign in that person's favour.
Alternatively, the Prime Minister may advise the President to dissolve the House of Representatives and order a premature election. The President must first ascertain whether there is in fact no person able to hold the confidence of the incumbent House of Representatives, and may grant the Prime Minister's request for a dissolution only if no such person is found. Otherwise, the President is to dismiss the Prime Minister and appoint the alternate Prime Minister. If the latter subsequently fails to win a vote of confidence in the House, "the President must dismiss him or her, re-appoint the predecessor and grant that person the dissolution originally advised."
The President is not allowed to dismiss the Prime Minister except in the event the failure of the government to win a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. The Constitution is silent on the matter of what should be done in the event of the Prime Minister being unable to perform their duties. This happened during the 2000 coup
, when Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
was kidnapped and held hostage by gunmen working for the chief insurrectionist, George Speight
. In captivity, Chaudhry was unable to carry out his duty of rendering the President advice, without which the President could not lawfully assume the emergency powers he believed he needed to deal with the crisis. Faced with a constitutional dilemma, President Mara
dismissed Chaudhry and appointed Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
, who rendered the necessary advice and then immediately resigned. Whether or not Mara's move was constitutionally allowable is open to debate. Revisions to the constitution are underway to clarify such ambiguities.
of Fiji.
Section 110 stipulates that every department of government shall have a permanent head, who may be styled Permanent Secretary, Secretary, Head of Department, or other appropriate title. By default the head of a department shall be called Secretary, unless another title is specifically chosen. The Secretary is responsible to the Minister in charge of the department.
This follows British, as distinct from American
, practice. In the United States, the head of each department is a member of the President of the United States
's Cabinet. British practice, on the other hand, is to keep the civil service separate from, but responsible to, political authority. While the Minister to whom each government department is ultimately responsible is an elected politician subject to replacement at any time, day to day administration of the department is in the hands of the Secretary who holds the office more or less permanently.
In this section, the term "department" specifically excludes the police and the military.
Section 111 establishes the office of Commissioner of Police
. This official is appointed by the Constitutional Offices Commission, following consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Minister. The Commissioner of Police holds executive and administrative authority over the entire police force, and is answerable only to the Minister in charge. Parliament may, however, make laws regulating the police force.
Section 112 outlines the organization of the Military of Fiji
, called the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. The President, on the advice of the appropriate Minister, appoints a Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, who is answerable to the said Minister. The Commander is responsible for all appointments, promotions, and demotions in the armed forces, and for all disciplinary action (including expulsion) against servicemen. In addition, Parliament may regulate the military in other ways.
Sections 113 and 114 establish the offices of Solicitor-General and Director of Public Prosecutions. Both must meet the qualifications required of judges. The Solicitor-General is appointed by the Judicial Service Commission following consultation with the Attorney-General. As specified elsewhere in this chapter, the Solicitor-General may exercise the functions of the Attorney-General in their absence. The Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed by the Constitutional Offices Commission following consultation with the Attorney-General. This official may order criminal charges to be brought against individuals and corporate entities, take over criminal proceedings instituted by another person or authority, or dismiss any charges before a judicial verdict has been rendered.
Charges brought before military courts are specifically excluded from the authority of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Prerogative of Mercy was exercised by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo
in 2001, when he commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence imposed on George Speight
, who was convicted of treason for his leading role in the 2000 coup
.
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
is titled Executive Government. There are five Parts, further subdivided into thirty sections, which set out the organization, functions, and responsibilities of the executive branch of government. Modeled on the Westminster system
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Fiji's constitution does not separate the Executive and Legislative branches of government as strictly as do many democracies, but despite considerable overlap, the branches of government are nevertheless constitutionally distinct.
Part 1 Executive Authority
- See main articles: List of Presidents of Fiji, List of Vice-Presidents of Fiji
Part 1 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 85 through 88, establishes the offices of President and Vice-President and briefly summarizes their functions and responsibilities, on which the remainder of the chapter elaborates.
Sections 85 through 87 declare the President to be Fiji's Head of State, in whom executive authority is "vested." Later sections reveal this authority to be largely, though not entirely, symbolic. The President is further declared to be the symbol of the unity of the State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the military forces
Military of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
.
Section 88 establishes the office of Vice-President, who is empowered to take over the functions of the President in the event of the President being absent or otherwise unable to carry out his duties. If the President and Vice-President are both unable to perform Presidential duties, the Speaker of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
may carry out the necessary functions.
In the event of the death, resignation, or incapacitation of the President, a new President and Vice-President must be appointed within three months. The Vice-President is authorized to exercise the functions of the presidency while the office is vacant. The Vice-President may be a candidate to fill the vacancy, but does not automatically succeed to it. This stipulation is designed to remove any vested interest a disloyal Vice-President might potentially have of producing a vacancy in the Presidency.
In practice, on the two occasions that the Presidency has fallen vacant (as of September 2004), the Vice-President has, after performing the President's functions in an interim capacity, been duly appointed to fill the vacancy. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
Penaia Ganilau
Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau, GCMG, KCVO, KBE, DSO was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993...
died in 1993 and was succeeded by his Vice-President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
. Mara was deposed in the Fiji coup of 2000
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
, but after the Constitution was restored and Mara declined reappointment, his Vice-President, Josefa Iloilo
Josefa Iloilo
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...
was appointed to succeed him.
Part 2 President and Vice-President
Part 2 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 89 through 95, sets out the qualifications, manner of election, and formula for removal of the President and Vice-President, and miscellaneous rules relating to the institution of the two offices.Sections 89 through 91 stipulate that the President and Vice-President shall be appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs
Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through a military coup in December 2006...
"after consultation with the Prime Minister." It is not clear whether or not this clause gives the Prime Minister a veto. It has never been tested.
The President and Vice-President are required to be Fijian citizens who have had a distinguished career in any aspect of national or international life, whether in the public or private sectors, and must meet the qualifications required of candidates for the House of Representatives. The offices of President and Vice-President are incompatible with any other offices; appointment to either position automatically terminates one's service in whatever other office he or she might be serving in at the time. The term of office is five years, renewable once.
Section 92 provides for the replacement of the Vice-President in the event of the office becoming vacant. The President nominates another person to complete the unexpired term of the Vice-President, subject to the approval of the Great Council of Chiefs.
Section 93 authorizes the Great Council of Chiefs to removed the President or Vice-President from office for "infirmity of body or mind... or for misbehaviour." This is not an easy process, however. First, the Prime Minister must notify the Chief Justice
Chief Justice (Fiji)
The Chief Justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. He or she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is required by the Constitution to consult the Leader of the Opposition. This does not give the Leader of the Opposition a veto, only the right to be consulted. ...
that he considers the President or Vice-President unable to carry out his duties or unfit to remain in office. In the event of alleged physical or mental infirmity, the Chief Justice is required to establish a medical board consisting of three qualified medical practitioners; in the event of alleged treason, felony, bribery, or other misbehaviour, a tribunal of three persons, each of whom is eligible to be a judge, is to be appointed. After makings thorough investigation, the medical board or tribunal is to present its findings to the Great Council of Chiefs, whose decision is final.
Section 94 requires that the President and Vice-President must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oaths relating to their respective offices; these are set out later in the Constitution. The oaths are to be administered by the Chief Justice.
The authorizing of only one person (namely, the Chief Justice) is designed to forestall legal recognition of any Presidential or Vice-Presidential oath administered illegally, as happened in the 2000 coup, when Ratu Jope Seniloli
Jope Seniloli
Ratu Jope Naucabalavu Seniloli is a Fijian chief who holds the title of Turaga Taukei Naua and who served as Fiji's Vice-President from 25 March 2001 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following his conviction for treason on August 6 2004, and the rejection of his appeal early in...
(an accomplice of the coup's chief instigator, George Speight
George Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
) was administered the Presidential oath of office by someone other than the Chief Justice. On 6 August 2004, he was convicted of treason for swearing an unconstitutional oath.
Section 96 allows the Parliament to make laws, subject to the Constitution, "relating to the appointment, the terms and conditions of office, including pension entitlements, and the procedures for removal, of the President and Vice-President."
Part 3 Cabinet Government
- See main articles: List of Prime Ministers of Fiji, Cabinet (Fiji)Cabinet (Fiji)Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
.
Part 3 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 97 through 109, establishes the Cabinet
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
as the effective government of Fiji. This follows Westminster practice: in the Cabinet, collectively, makes executive decisions and its members exercise executive authority in the name of the President.
Section 96 curtails the power of the President to act independently. In the exercise of powers, the President is to act "only on the advice of the Cabinet or a Minister or of some other body or authority prescribed by this Constitution." The Constitution does, however, go on to specify a few carefully defined exceptions to this rule.
Sections 97 through 99 declare that governments (namely, Cabinets) must have the confidence of the House of Representatives. The appointment of the Prime Minister is one of the few areas in which the President is authorized to exercise "his or her own judgement". This is immediately qualified, however: the person the President chooses must be "the member of the House of Representatives who, in the President's opinion, can form a government that has the confidence of the House of Representatives." Significantly, the clause states, not "a" member but "the" member, therefore assuming that in the normal course of events, there will be only one such candidate. In the Westminster model, this is assumed to be the leader of the political party or coalition holding a majority of seats in the House of Representatives. In cases where no legislative majority exists, however, due to party splits (as happened in 1992) or to electoral fragmentation, the President must exercise personal discretion and appoint as Prime Minister the person he or she considers most likely hold the confidence of the House of Representatives.
The Cabinet, whose members must also be members of either the House of Representatives or the Senate
Senate (Fiji)
The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...
, is to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet must reflect the composition of the House of Representatives: every political party with eight or more seats in the House is entitled, if willing, to a proportionate number of positions in the Cabinet. If the Prime Minister wishes to include ministers from a political party or parties holding fewer than eight seats, the appointments must be at the expense of his own party, not other parties entitled to cabinet representation. In selecting minister from political parties other than his own, the Prime Minister is to consult with the leaders of those parties.
The provision for a multiparty cabinet was a departure from the usual Westminster model, which Fiji had previously followed. As political parties in Fiji have in practice represented mostly ethnic rather than ideological interests, elections tended to result in a government with little representation from outside of its ethnic power base. The Mara government
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
(1967-1987) was supported mostly by ethnic Fijians and minority groups
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
, but never succeeded in attracting more than a quarter of the Indo-Fijian vote. The Bavadra government
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
, which took office following the 1987 election
Fiji election of 1987
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history...
, was supported by no more than 9% of the ethnic Fijian electorate, although Prime Minister Bavadra was himself an ethnic Fijian. Cabinets, always drawn from the caucus of the governing party, therefore tended to be ethnically lopsided, which aroused resentment among the ethnic groups that were underrepresented. This was a leading factor in the 1987 coup: the election of the Bavadra government, which included only four ethnic Fijian ministers, had provoked a month of increasingly disorderly protests which culminated in the coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
. The 1997 constitutional convention decided that a multiparty cabinet would be the best way of ensuring representation of all ethnic communities, as well as of encouraging cooperation among their leaders. The concept of a Consociational state was regarded as the ideal to work for.
Interestingly, the constitutional convention that decided on the multiparty cabinet model coincided with a similar series of negotiations that were taking place in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement providing, among other things, for a power-sharing Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
in which all significant willing parties were to be represented, in order to ensure the representation at Executive level of Catholic, as well as Protestant, parties. Fiji's decision to follow a similar course was another reflection of its faith in British constitutional models: while the standard Westminster cabinet model was rejected as unsuited to local conditions, alternative models rooted in British practice were studied, and one was adopted.
In practice, this constitutional requirement for a multiparty cabinet has never been strictly observed. After the 1999 election
Fiji election of 1999
General elections were held in Fiji between 8 and 15 May 1999. They were the first election held under the revised Constitution of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.-Electoral system:Previously,...
, Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
refused to include his defeated foes, the Fijian Political Party, in his Cabinet, despite its holding of eight seats in the House of Representatives. Following the 2001 election
Fiji election of 2001
The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval in which the government had been deposed and the constitution suspended in May that year. On 1 March 2001, the Appeal Court upheld the decision. An election to...
, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
found pretexts for excluding the Labour Party
Fiji Labour Party
The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is...
from the Cabinet, even though it had won 28 seats, almost four times more than the constitutional requirement for automatic inclusion in the Cabinet. Court cases followed, and on 18 July 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusion of the Labour Party was unconstitutional and demanded that the situation be rectified. Negotiations, appeals, and counter-appeals stalled the resolution of the dispute, and a subsequent Supreme Court ruling in June 2004 held that the Labour Party was entitled to 14 out of 30 cabinet positions. Qarase announced that he would abide by the verdict, but his continuing refusal to include Chaudhry himself in the Cabinet has prolonged the dispute. As of September 2004, the matter is far from resolved.
Section 100 establishes the office of the Attorney-General, who is the chief legal adviser to the government. Although a member of the Cabinet, the Attorney-General's office is the only Cabinet position, apart from that of the Prime Minister, to be mentioned specifically in the Constitution. This position differs from other Cabinet posts in several important ways. Unlike other Cabinet ministers, who are not required to have any particular educational qualifications, the Attorney-General, or any person acting in that capacity, must be a barrister and solicitor qualified and registered to practice law in Fiji. The Attorney-General is also the only member of the Cabinet who, although a member of one house of Parliament, may attend and participate in the proceedings of (but not vote in) the other house. In the event of the Attorney-General's absence, their responsibilities may be taken over by another minister or member of Parliament, who must meet the qualifications for Attorney-General, or by the Solicitor-General.
Sections 101 through 106 set out the responsibilities and functions of Cabinet ministers. Ministers may have whatever functions, titles, and responsibilities the Prime Minister may determine, and are responsible for one or more branches of government. Any part of government business not specifically assigned to a particular minister is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. All ministers are individually and collectively responsible to, and must hold the confidence of, the House of Representatives.
A Minister must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office, set out in a later section of the constitution, before the President. The taking of such an oath before anyone other than the lawful President, or someone authorized to act on his behalf, constitutes an act of treason, and on 6 August 2004 several defendants, including Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure
Rakuita Vakalalabure
Ratu Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure is a Fijian lawyer and politician. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and following the elections after the 2000 political uphevals was a candidate of the Conservative Alliance...
(the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
), were convicted of treason for having taken an illegal oath of office during the 2000 coup
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
. (They had been sworn in by Ratu Seniloli
Jope Seniloli
Ratu Jope Naucabalavu Seniloli is a Fijian chief who holds the title of Turaga Taukei Naua and who served as Fiji's Vice-President from 25 March 2001 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following his conviction for treason on August 6 2004, and the rejection of his appeal early in...
).
Section 104 requires the Prime Minister to keep the President "generally informed about issues relating to the governance of Fiji." In addition, the Prime Minister must supply whatever specific information the President may ask for.
Section 105 specifies the circumstances in which a minister may leave office. Except in the case of the expiry or dissolution of the House of Representatives, in which case all ministers remain in office pending the appointment of a new cabinet, a minister may leave office by resignation either from the office itself or from the Parliament, membership of which is a prerequisite for membership of the Cabinet. In the event of the dismissal or resignation of the Prime Minister, the tenure of all other ministers is automatically terminated.
Section 106 provides for the appointment of "Acting Ministers" to take over the functions of any minister on an interim basis, in the event of the minister being unable to carry out their duties on account of sickness, absence from Fiji, or any other case. The appointment of an Acting Minister must be published in the government's official Gazette.
Sections 107 through 109 specify the rules for the transfer of authority from one government to another, for the organizing of premature parliamentary elections, and for dismissal of a Prime Minister. If the government is defeated in a general election, the Prime Minister must resign. If the government is defeated in a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives (as happened in 1994), or if the House rejects "A bill appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary services of the Government," the Prime Minister must advise the President on whether there is another person who can command a legislative majority, and if so, resign in that person's favour.
Alternatively, the Prime Minister may advise the President to dissolve the House of Representatives and order a premature election. The President must first ascertain whether there is in fact no person able to hold the confidence of the incumbent House of Representatives, and may grant the Prime Minister's request for a dissolution only if no such person is found. Otherwise, the President is to dismiss the Prime Minister and appoint the alternate Prime Minister. If the latter subsequently fails to win a vote of confidence in the House, "the President must dismiss him or her, re-appoint the predecessor and grant that person the dissolution originally advised."
The President is not allowed to dismiss the Prime Minister except in the event the failure of the government to win a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. The Constitution is silent on the matter of what should be done in the event of the Prime Minister being unable to perform their duties. This happened during the 2000 coup
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
, when Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
was kidnapped and held hostage by gunmen working for the chief insurrectionist, George Speight
George Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
. In captivity, Chaudhry was unable to carry out his duty of rendering the President advice, without which the President could not lawfully assume the emergency powers he believed he needed to deal with the crisis. Faced with a constitutional dilemma, President Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
dismissed Chaudhry and appointed Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
Tevita Momoedonu
Ratu Tatu Tevita Momoedonu is a Fijian chief and has served as the fifth Prime Minister of Fiji twice - each time extremely briefly. Both appointments were to get around constitutional technicalities; his first term of office - on 27 May 2000 lasted only a few minutes. His second term - from 14...
, who rendered the necessary advice and then immediately resigned. Whether or not Mara's move was constitutionally allowable is open to debate. Revisions to the constitution are underway to clarify such ambiguities.
Part 4 Government Administration
Part 4 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 110 through 114, deals with the organization of the civil, police, and military forcesMilitary of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
of Fiji.
Section 110 stipulates that every department of government shall have a permanent head, who may be styled Permanent Secretary, Secretary, Head of Department, or other appropriate title. By default the head of a department shall be called Secretary, unless another title is specifically chosen. The Secretary is responsible to the Minister in charge of the department.
This follows British, as distinct from American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, practice. In the United States, the head of each department is a member of the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
's Cabinet. British practice, on the other hand, is to keep the civil service separate from, but responsible to, political authority. While the Minister to whom each government department is ultimately responsible is an elected politician subject to replacement at any time, day to day administration of the department is in the hands of the Secretary who holds the office more or less permanently.
In this section, the term "department" specifically excludes the police and the military.
Section 111 establishes the office of Commissioner of Police
Commissioner of Police (Fiji)
Fiji has a unified national police force, the Fiji Police, whose motto is Salus Populi.The Fijian Commissioner of Police title had been held by Australian police officer Andrew Hughes since 2003 but after the 2006 takeover of the Government the post has been reserved for a local.The Commissioner is...
. This official is appointed by the Constitutional Offices Commission, following consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Minister. The Commissioner of Police holds executive and administrative authority over the entire police force, and is answerable only to the Minister in charge. Parliament may, however, make laws regulating the police force.
Section 112 outlines the organization of the Military of Fiji
Military of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
, called the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. The President, on the advice of the appropriate Minister, appoints a Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, who is answerable to the said Minister. The Commander is responsible for all appointments, promotions, and demotions in the armed forces, and for all disciplinary action (including expulsion) against servicemen. In addition, Parliament may regulate the military in other ways.
Sections 113 and 114 establish the offices of Solicitor-General and Director of Public Prosecutions. Both must meet the qualifications required of judges. The Solicitor-General is appointed by the Judicial Service Commission following consultation with the Attorney-General. As specified elsewhere in this chapter, the Solicitor-General may exercise the functions of the Attorney-General in their absence. The Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed by the Constitutional Offices Commission following consultation with the Attorney-General. This official may order criminal charges to be brought against individuals and corporate entities, take over criminal proceedings instituted by another person or authority, or dismiss any charges before a judicial verdict has been rendered.
Charges brought before military courts are specifically excluded from the authority of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Part 5 Prerogative of Mercy
Part 5 of Chapter 7, comprises a single section: Sections 115. Titled Prerogative of Mercy, it authorizes the President to issue full pardons and conditional pardons to persons convicted of any legal offence, to remit all or part of any penalty imposed, or to "grant... a respite, either indefinitely or for a specified period, of the execution of the punishment imposed for the offence." This power is not to be exercised independently but only on the advice of the Commission on the Prerogative of Mercy. This commission consists of three persons: its chairman, the Attorney-General, and two other persons appointed by the President "acting in his or her own judgement." The appointment of this commission is one of the few aspects of government in which the President has a free hand. If a person has been sentenced to death in a civilian court, the commission must consider a report on the case written by the judge who presided at the trial, or, in the event of absence of that judge, by the Chief Justice. The commission must also take into account any other relevant facts derived from the record of the case, or from any sources to which the commission has access, before advising the President on whether or not to exercise the Prerogative of Mercy.The Prerogative of Mercy was exercised by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo
Josefa Iloilo
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...
in 2001, when he commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence imposed on George Speight
George Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
, who was convicted of treason for his leading role in the 2000 coup
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
.