Lawyer Tevita Vakalalabure, representing the group led by Iowane Naivalurua, urged the Supreme Court h to recognise that the question before it is not political, but legal, and must be answered with clarity and principle.
“I begin by quoting again the Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. (Sitiveni) Rabuka, who is the Prime Minister today, because there is some discussion that this is a political question,” Mr Vakalalabure said.
Mr Vakalalabure asked the judges what will give “legitimacy to our Constitution”.
“It is the principle that it has been developed with the free and full participation of everyone. It provides for a system of parliamentary government based on the consent of the people.”
He invited the court to take judicial notice of the history of the 2013 Constitution, reminding them that previous references had acknowledged it was a document drafted without public consultation, “by a small group of officials.”
“In the Republic of Fiji, legitimacy comes from the will of the people.”
“This is not just theory, it is grounded in the common law and affirmed by this court and others.”
“The position that the (Iowane Naivalurua) group is putting forward is this, we want the country to move forward with stability and with legality.
The hearings continue this afternoon.