Janet Mason’s appointment is over, says Fiji Law Society president William Wylie Clarke.
And the submission of a report by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) tasked to investigate the appointment of Barbara Malimali as Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) marks the conclusion of its engagement.
“The commission has presented its report and that is the end of its work,” said Mr Clarke.
“The report is now the subject of discussion, some good and some bad, and much speculation.
“Ms Mason’s appointment as counsel assisting the Malimali Commission of Inquiry is over. It is not for Ms Mason to comment further.”
Ms Mason, he said, must accept any criticism and comment “with good grace – the same way the rest of us in public-facing positions do.”
Mr Clarke said commissions of inquiry in Fiji were rare so there were no standards or behaviours that had been established on the conduct of members of such commissions post-engagement.
When contacted for comments yesterday about her ongoing commentary despite the conclusion of the commission’s work, Ms Mason lashed out at The Fiji Times, accusing this newspaper of bias.
“It looks to me as if The Fiji Times did not like my comments … responding to your article which contained the interview you had with Wylie Clarke,” she said.
“You have tried to deal with this by making out that I have no right to speak out publicly on legal issues in Fiji. Well, I have every right to do so, and in fact, I have a responsibility to speak out when I see glaring inaccuracies, misinformation, and/or, inadequate legal commentary.”
She said she had been delegated the role of keeping the media informed of procedural matters related to the COI. “I remain free to discuss such procedural matters as I see fit,” she said. Full Q&A on PG 6
