The Supreme Court of Fiji ruled that the 2013 Constitution is the legally effective constitution of the country today despite acknowledging that it was not lawfully abrogated from its predecessor, the 1997 Constitution.
In a landmark opinion released on Thursday, the Court made clear that its jurisdiction to answer legal questions posed by Cabinet hinged on the recognition of the 2013 Constitution.
“It is only if the Court recognises the 2013 Constitution as legally effective that we have jurisdiction under that Constitution to consider and answer the questions,” the judges stated.
While the Court reaffirmed that the 1997 Constitution was never lawfully abrogated, it noted that “events have moved on,” and the 2013 Constitution has been the practical framework of governance for over a decade.
“The recognition of the 2013 Constitution would not mean that we think the 1997 Constitution was lawfully abrogated. It was not,” the judges ruled.
However, they stressed the need to assess the 2013 Constitution in light of its operational reality and ongoing acceptance by institutions and the public.
Importantly, the Court distanced itself from endorsing the strict amendment procedures entrenched in the 2013 document.
It described these as “draconian restrictions” that “appear to preclude or drastically limit the ability of the people of Fiji and their elected representatives to determine their own constitutional future in a democratic way.”
The Court warned that such entrenchment risks deepening Fiji’s democratic deficit, particularly given the 2013 Constitution’s origins outside of a fully consultative or representative process.