The arrest and detention of Charlie Charters, a citizen publisher who has recently been sharing confidential information allegedly linked to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) on his Facebook page, has sparked debate over the legal basis of the action taken against him.
Speaking on the matter, senior lawyer Richard Naidu questioned whether FICAC had lawful grounds to detain Charters under existing legislation.
Naidu noted that while the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption Commissioner has the authority to stop the departure of a person who is being investigated “in respect of an offence to which the FICAC Act applies,” that power must be tied to a specific offence recognised under the Act.
He argued that Section 13G of the FICAC Act, which governs the divulging of official information, applies strictly to officers or former officers of the Commission and members or former members of its staff.
Under the law, no such officer or staff member may, without written permission from the Commissioner, publish or disclose information obtained through their official duties. The provision does not extend to members of the public who merely receive or republish that information.
Naidu suggested that while FICAC may be displeased by the publication of information that portrays the Commission in an embarrassing light, the Act only empowers it to prosecute its own personnel for unlawful disclosure — not external parties.
He questioned what offence FICAC could reasonably be investigating in Charters’ case that would justify his detention, given that the law does not criminalise the act of receiving or publishing leaked FICAC information by non-staff.
