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• W1534004608 abstract "I INTRODUCTION In his introduction to the Respondent's Brief from Republic of Fiji v Prasad (`Prasad'), (1) published in the June edition of this journal, George Williams contends that the case `may prove decisive in restoring democracy to the Republic of the Fiji Islands in accordance with the 1997 Constitution'. (2) He concludes that Prasad represents `a legal landmark'. (3) The Court of Appeal of Fiji declared that the military-appointed Interim Government failed to establish that it was the legal government. (4) It ruled that the Constitution Amendment Act 1997 (Fiji Islands) (`1997 Constitution') remained the supreme law of the country and had not been lawfully abrogated by the military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, when he effectively took power on 29 May 2000, ten days after businessman George Speight's seizure of Parliament. Williams suggests that, while the Court did not accept all of the respondent's submissions, it did incorporate a `normative element' into the effectiveness test for the legitimacy of a new regime. (5) He states that `[w]here adopted by other courts, this criterion will make it extremely difficult for a tyrannical regime which violates basic human rights recognised at international law to gain judicial recognition. (6) The judgment in Prasad does not substantiate these contentions. Rather, as I shall argue in this commentary, the Court left the way open for the military's administration to remain in office. Moreover, it rejected the argument that a usurping regime must be judged by its acceptance of international human rights obligations and it declined to require observance of democratic norms. Arguably, the most significant new criterion suggested by the Court was the acceptance of a new regime by the `international community' which, in this case at least, refers to the stance taken by major Western nations, notably Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. Before turning to these arguments, it must be noted that Fiji's Court of Appeal is an unlikely forum for the establishment of a genuinely democratic precedent. Having unilaterally abolished the country's Supreme Court without explanation, (7) the military regime retained the Court of Appeal, making it Fiji's highest appellate court. Reflecting the continuing legacy of nearly a century of British colonial rule in Fiji between 1874 and 1970, the five judges in Prasad, headed by New Zealand's Sir Maurice Casey, were drawn from the two major regional powers, Australia and New Zealand, and from two other former British colonies or protectorates, namely Papua New Guinea and Tonga. Thus, despite being constituted as a court of Fiji, the Court of Appeal continues to embody aspects of colonialism, a relationship that mirrors Fiji's substantial economic dependence on Western powers and international financial institutions such as the World Bank. (8) It is also apparent that, while claiming to be ruling only on questions of law, the Court based its decision on a number of political conclusions. One such conclusion was based on an assessment of the voting patterns in the May 1999 election that resulted in victory for ousted Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's Labour Party-led People's Coalition. Another was a strident endorsement of the deposed Government's moves to resolve disputes over the renewal of sugar farmers' leases under the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act (Fiji Islands). (9) The Court's most critical political assessment was that Interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's regime had, in effect, failed to establish firm control over the population. The Court concluded that `[t]he interim civilian government has not discharged the burden of proving acquiescence and has accordingly failed to establish that it is the legal government of Fiji'. (10) It referred to emergency legislation that had been used to `inhibit public expressions of dissent', (11) numerous affidavits expressing disapproval of the government, (12) and the declared readiness of the ousted Chaudhry Government to resume office. …" @default.
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• W1534004608 date "2001-12-01" @default.
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• W1534004608 title "A victory for democracy? : an alternative assessment of Republic of Fiji v. Prasad" @default.
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