Dialogue Fiji has raised serious concerns about the process being used to review Fiji’s Constitution, arguing that while constitutional reform is necessary, the current review lacks the transparency, public participation and time needed to ensure its legitimacy.
In its submission to the Constitution Review Commission, the organisation said Fiji’s 2013 Constitution contains “serious structural flaws” that have contributed to the concentration of power and weakened independent institutions.
However, it stressed that the legitimacy of constitutional reform “does not come merely from the appointment of a Commission or the holding of hearings.”
“It comes from a process that is transparent, participatory, deliberative, and trusted by the people.”
Dialogue Fiji said the current review process falls well short of that standard.
“On that test, the present process is deeply deficient.”
The organisation argued that a constitution is not an ordinary law but the nation’s supreme legal and political compact, defining the relationship between citizens and the State, distributing public power, protecting rights and establishing the rules for resolving political disagreements.
It warned that in divided societies such as Fiji, the process of writing or amending a constitution is just as important as the final document.
“A flawed process can produce a constitution, but it will not produce constitutional legitimacy.”
The submission noted that Fiji has had four constitutions since independence, each reflecting the political conflicts and power struggles of its time.
It said successive governments had too often treated constitutions as political instruments rather than enduring frameworks for national stability.
Dialogue Fiji also criticised the timeframe allocated for the review, describing the five-month process as rushed and inadequate for meaningful national consultation.
“A five-month process is simply not adequate for a proper and democratic national review of Fiji’s supreme law.”
The organisation pointed to international examples, noting that constitutional reform processes in South Africa, Tunisia, Kenya and Fiji’s own Reeves and Ghai Commissions took between one and two-and-a-half years.
It said the current review would be the shortest major constitutional review in Fiji’s history.
“That is not a badge of efficiency… but rather a warning sign.”
Dialogue Fiji urged the Commission to ensure any constitutional reforms are founded on a process that is inclusive, transparent and capable of earning the confidence of all Fijians.
