The Supreme Court should adopt a position of deep caution and constitutional skepticism when reviewing any attempt by the State to alter the Constitution, Fiji Labour Party lawyer Siddharth Nandan told the bench today.
He told the judges to view the State as the “villain” in this legal drama.
Mr Nandan said that the State’s request for the Court’s opinion on the amendment provisions of the 2013 Constitution raises serious concerns about “self-serving motives.”
“Where the State is coming to this Court seeking to reduce or increase its own powers, the default position of this Court should be to treat the State as the villain of this piece,” he said.
“Treat its motives as malevolent, treat it with caution.”
Mr Nandan warned on the weakening constitutional safeguards around amendments.
“You start that path, and we keep going down it, to the point where it’s no longer constitutional protection, it’s political convenience.”
He stressed the power the government of the day holds if they have a parliamentary majority.
“In a practical sense, if the government already holds a majority, and then wants to weaken the amendment process itself, that’s where we must be most cautious.”
“Any move to give the State greater ability to amend the Constitution must be viewed as a potential threat to democratic integrity.”