Constitution Review Commission has urged Parliament and other decision-makers not to consider its constitutional recommendations in isolation, warning that many of the proposed reforms are designed to work together.
In its 2026 report, the Commission said it anticipated its recommendations would undergo scrutiny and debate through the constitutional process involving Cabinet, Parliament and ultimately a referendum.
“Complex problems do not always have simple solutions, and we encourage decision makers to read our recommendations in complementarity with one another,” the Commission states.
It said the Constitution should be viewed as an “interlocking framework” operating alongside Fiji’s broader laws, government policies and socioeconomic environment.
“We have kept things simple where we could, but a constitution is an interlocking framework that exists in a broader legislative, policy, and socioeconomic landscape,” the report states.
The Commission urged Parliament to consider how individual recommendations would interact and what effect changing one proposal could have on other parts of the proposed constitutional framework.
The report also reveals that commissioners adopted what they described as a “consensus-first approach” when deciding their recommendations.
While consensus was achieved on many issues, the Commission said contentious matters were approached democratically and alternative views were recorded where commissioners differed.
“Recommendations reflect the consensus and majority-supported decisions of the Commission,” the report states.
Where considered appropriate, individual commissioners’ alternative views have also been included for consideration during the political and public debate.
The Commission said presenting differing views was intended to demonstrate that competing perspectives could coexist and contribute to better decision-making.
It said the recommendations and alternative views were ultimately being put forward for consideration as part of Fiji’s democratic process.
