The Fiji Law Society (FLS) is seeking the reinstatement of the 1997 Legal Practitioners Act, which it says was removed by the former attorney-general without consultation.
The society made the submission to Attorney-General Siromi Turaga on the reform of the Legal Practitioners Act 2009.
“The changes that resulted from the promulgation of a new Legal Practitioners Decree 2009 were clearly made with the intention of weakening the Fiji Law Society and raised concerns about the impartiality and independence of our legal system,” society president Wylie Clarke said in the submission.
“Any changes to the law should be made for the betterment of society as a whole and not for the benefit of any particular group.”
The society is also seeking the removal of the Registrar of the High Court from any oversight of the society.
“The Registrar is part of the Government machinery whose primary responsibility is administration of the court system. The Registrar should have no direct role in the regulation of the legal profession,” he said.
“The independence and impartiality of legal practitioners is crucial to the functioning of a healthy democracy as it ensures that the legal profession operates independently from political and other external influences.
“This independence allows lawyers to carry out their duties without fear of retribution and to uphold the rule of law and the rights of citizens without bias. It is difficult for lawyers to carry out their duties if they fear political interference.”
Mr Clarke stated the society must be allowed to operate as an independent regulatory body and its council must be free to make regulations and rules for its members without Government interference.
He said the Attorney-General should have no role in the making of regulations by the council, “a body whose expertise is in the practice of law and should be accountable to its members, members of the legal profession”.
“The fact that any regulation is subject to the members’ approval provides the safeguard that regulations made by the council are just and fair to members,” Mr Clarke said.
