The Judiciary is planning to purchase one Presidential SUV to be used by the Chief Justice that “needs to meet the standard that best suits the office”.
An additional two executive SUVs are also to be purchased to be used by Supreme Court judges.
In a tender released in the weekend, the Judiciary states as the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court is based in Suva, and so is the Court of Appeal.
“The Chief Justice is the President of the Supreme Court and is also to act as the Vice President of the Republic of Fiji,” states the tender document.
“Having considered the significance of the position, the specifications for the executive SUV to be procured needs to meet the standard that best suits the office and the role that comes with the position of the Chief Justice.
“The initial official vehicle for the CJ is not operational after 10 years of service and is in the process to be written off.
“The CJ is currently using a leased vehicle which will then be transferred as official vehicle to President for Appeals Court when the new vehicle is acquired.”
The tender states there are seven expatriate visiting judges appointed as Supreme Court Judges.
“These judges come into the country to preside over cases during Supreme Court sessions and go out again after the session completes.
“As you would expect, their average age would be around 70 years old and above.
“When procuring the vehicle for the Supreme Court, the vehicles specification are to fit in with their level of comfort considering the physical condition of these judges and more luggage space as a lot of travelling is involved for visiting judges.”
Currently, the department’s pool of vehicles are utilised by the judges during Supreme Court sessions.
“Given the limited number of vehicles allocated to the department, other operations of the court are affected by this due to availability of vehicles.
“Judicial has increased its workforce and its services deliverables but the number of assigned vehicles remained unchanged.
“This has put a lot of pressure on our transport unit to ensure that transportation is available when needed.”
