FIJI’S 2013 Constitution is “ruler-centred”, says constitutional lawyer Jon Apted.
Speaking at the Attorney-General’s Conference in Nadi, Mr Apted contrasted the 2013 Constitution with previous constitutions, and that the focus had shifted away from a people-centred approach.
“The topic today is a constitution by the people. A constitution contains limits on the powers of government and includes human rights provisions,” he said.
Mr Apted explained that human rights provisions were essential because they represented areas that the people reserved for themselves, rather than powers granted by the Government.
“They are not gifts from the Government down. They are what the people say they do not give the Government to do. You can govern us, but you can’t make laws about these things. You can’t do these things, please. We keep it for ourselves.”
Mr Apted said the fundamental purpose of a constitution was to protect citizens’ freedoms. However, he argued that the 2013 Constitution deviated from this principle.
“The 2013 Constitution has a completely opposite focus.
“It contains the rules by which the people in power decided that they would rule over us. It’s ruler-centred, not people-centred. It’s by the rulers, not by the people, and it was for the rulers and not for the people.”
Mr Apted also suggested that the previous government, which oversaw the drafting of the 2013 Constitution, believed they would maintain power indefinitely.
“They thought that they were going to govern forever. Now that they found out, sorry, Flory, they’re not. I think they realised what’s wrong with their constitution.”
Mr Apted spoke at length about the erosion of key constitutional principles, such as the separation of powers, which he described as a foundational feature of Fiji’s governance since 1966.
