Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni
Rabuka says he will appeal against a High Court decision
quashing the report of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into
the appointment of a former head of the country’s
anti-corruption agency.
The months-long inquiry, which
cost the taxpayer around FJ$2 million (NZ$1.5m), has become
a major political issue for Rabuka’s coalition
government.
The COI, headed by Australian judge
Justice David Ashton-Lewis, began on 31 October 2024 and was
originally due to conclude on 31 January 2025, but continued
until 1 May 2025.
Acting on the inquiry’s
recommendations, Rabuka advised the country’s president that
the then-commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission
Against Corruption (FICAC), Barbara Malimali, should be
sacked.
Malimali strongly challenged her suspension
and subsequent sacking and launched a judicial review
against Rabuka and President Ratu Naiqama
Lalabalavu.
Fiji’s High Court ruled in February that
Malimali’s dismissal was unlawful,
a decision immediately appealed by Rabuka.
Then, in
June, the High Court rejected
Rabuka’s attempt to stall its ruling that Malimali was
illegally sacked.
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Nearly two years after the inquiry
was established, Rabuka faced another legal setback when the
High Court ruled
last Friday that the inquiry report, in its entirety,
was null and void.
The High Court found that the
inquiry’s work after 31 January 2025 was unlawful because
its term had not been validly extended, and the president
lacked the power to extend its term.
“[The]
commission’s work from 1 February 2025, and the COI Report
dated 1 May 2025, is ultra vires,” the judgement
stated.
Ultra vires is a legal term meaning beyond
lawful authority.
The ruling comes as political
parties prepare for Fiji’s next general election, which is
due later this year.
Following the court’s decision,
Rabuka told local media he would appeal the decision and
would resign if he failed in the Court of Appeal, or if
necessary, the Supreme Court.
“I’m appealing the part
that implies my activities and touch on my name [regarding]
what I had done,” he said.
“I’m not the author of the
COI. I made the recommendations and it’s up to the
Attorney-General when he advised me and Solicitor-General.
And my personal side, my legal counsel is
doing.”
Asked if he would reisgn if the appeal failed,
Rabuka replied: “Correct.”
“This is only the High
Court. We [will] go to the Court of Appeal, and if [I’m not
happy] with the Court of Appeal [decision], then we [will]
go to the Supreme Court, and that’s the
end.”
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