The Republic of Fiji Military Forces has told the Constitution Review Commission that Fiji’s legal system has, at times, been used to protect a privileged few rather than uphold justice, arguing that constitutional reforms are needed to end what it describes as a culture of impunity.
Appearing before the Commission, Commander Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai outlined a series of recommendations aimed at preventing future military intervention and strengthening democratic governance.
He said the first priority is to establish absolute constitutional clarity on the role of the military.
“Our recommendations are, one, absolute constitutional clarity. We must establish a framework that leaves no room for interpretation regarding the military’s mandate.”
Kalouniwai said the Constitution should firmly anchor the RFMF under the authority of elected civilian leadership and remove legal ambiguities that have historically been used to justify military intervention.
“The supremacy of civilian authority must be formally anchored, and draft provisions must strip away the vague legal justifications historically used to invite or excuse military intervention.”
Turning to immunity provisions, the RFMF Commander said Fiji’s legal system had at times become “an instrument of elite protection rather than a safeguard for the people.”
“This map of impunity is not accidental. It is a deliberate design in which the threat of instability is used to bypass the law, and immunity clauses are used to legalise what would otherwise be criminal acts by forcing a false choice between justice and peace.”
He warned that this system had encouraged the public to accept what he described as a fragile and dishonest peace in exchange for silence.
Kalouniwai said dismantling the current framework would end what he described as a two-tier legal system.
“The key outcomes are the end of a two-tiered legal system, dismantling the divide between a protected elite and the general public before the law.”
He said constitutional reform should also restore confidence in Fiji’s justice system by strengthening both its moral and judicial integrity.
“We must move beyond the process of modernisation to address the underlying decay of the courts.”
The Commander added that Fiji must replace silence with accountability to ensure past misconduct cannot continue to be shielded by fears of future instability.
“We must break the cycle in which the fear of future coups is used as a permanent shield for past misconduct.”
The RFMF’s submission forms part of its recommendations to the Constitution Review Commission on reforms it believes are necessary to strengthen democracy, accountability and public confidence in Fiji’s institutions.
