The Commission of Inquiry (COI) has recommended that Parliament pass a majority vote to amend the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) Act, removing the Judicial Services Commission’s (JSC) authority to appoint the FICAC commissioner and deputy commissioner.
This was detailed in a leaked document believed to be the COI report, which the Government has yet make public.
In the alleged report, the Commission wrote that FICAC’s independence must be preserved at all times to hold high officeholders accountable.
“The intent in the Constitution is clear. FICAC’s independence must be preserved so that it is able to hold even the highest officeholders accountable under the law, and it should not be obstructed by anyone, including politicians, in order to protect individuals from that accountability,” the report stated.
“A further point we note is that in relation to the appointment of a Commissioner, and/or, Deputy Commissioner, the Constitution merely requires that they are ‘appointed by law’.”
“A change to the appointment process, such as no longer having the JSC entrusted with this responsibility, would not require an amendment to the Constitution. Amendments can simply be made to ss 43 and six of the FICAC Act by way of a simple majority of Parliament passing the amendment.”
However, it said a constitutional provision complicates the process, as Section 115(12) of the Constitution mandates that only the JSC recommends the remuneration of both the commissioner and deputy commissioner.
“It provides that the remuneration of the commissioner and the deputy commissioner will be determined by way of a recommendation from the JSC to the President, after the JSC has consulted with the A-G.”
“Consequently, because the Constitution specifies the JSC in relation to the remuneration of the commissioner and deputy commissioner, then we have the absurd situation whereby Parliament may choose to amend the FICAC Act to make provision for some other entity to recommend the appointment of the FICAC commissioner and deputy commissioner, but the JSC will still be responsible for the commissioner and deputy commissioner’s remuneration.”
The alleged report noted that because this was a constitutional provision, “it cannot be amended except by way of the Constitution itself being amended.”
