The Supreme Court of Fiji has removed a major legal barrier to constitutional reform by ruling that a simple majority of voters in a referendum is sufficient to approve amendments to the 2013 Constitution.
It has struck down the previous requirement for support from three-quarters of all registered voters.
In a historic opinion issued in response to a Cabinet referral, the Court confirmed that Parliament may initiate constitutional amendments with a two-thirds majority of MPs, but that approval at referendum only requires a majority of those who actually vote, not an absolute supermajority of the entire electorate.
This interpretation effectively removes what many legal scholars and political leaders had viewed as an impossibly high threshold, which had rendered the Constitution “virtually unamendable.”
The ruling preserves the requirement that at least two-thirds of all Members of Parliament must support a constitutional amendment bill at both the second and third readings.
However, the reduced referendum threshold is expected to make constitutional change more achievable and responsive to democratic will.
The Court also reaffirmed that the 2013 Constitution is the legally effective constitution of Fiji, while declaring the 1997 Constitution no longer valid.