PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is seriously considering removing the controversial immunity provision from the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, saying Fiji does not need it.
Mr Rabuka said the possibility of removing the clause had always been on his mind as the Government prepares to advance the Bill through its third reading in Parliament.
“I am considering it, seriously,” he said.
“I didn’t change my mind. It was always in my mind that we don’t need it.
“We didn’t have it in 1997, why have it now?”
However, prominent Suva lawyer Richard Naidu said the Prime Minister was incorrect in suggesting immunity did not exist under the 1997 Constitution.
“The Prime Minister is not quite right about immunity and the 1997 Constitution,” Mr Naidu said.
“Section 195(2)(a) of the 1997 Constitution, tucked away at the back, keeps in force the original immunity clauses from Part 14 of the earlier 1990 Constitution. So that immunity continued to apply.”
Mr Naidu said he had previously argued that removing the immunity provisions might have little practical effect because prosecutions or court actions might not eventuate.
However, he acknowledged that removing immunity was also a matter of principle.
“The strength of community feeling now against immunity is interesting to me.”
“Perhaps it is a sign of how as a society we are finally learning to value democracy and good governance, and showing we understand the damage caused by military coups and their consequences .”
Mr Naidu said if Mr Rabuka believed the clause could be removed, few people would object.
“The PM, as the leader of the 1987 coup, is clearly a person with an interest in immunity. So if he thinks the immunity clause can be deleted, I am sure that there are very few people who would complain.”
