Fijian justice as in the past

Press, 20 November 1987, Page 10

Fijian justice as in the past

NZPA-AAP Lautoka 1 -Justice in Fiji would continue to be done as in the past, according to the i senior puisne judge in < thenew republic’s I Supreme Court, Mr Jus- j tice Vijaya Parmanan- < dam. s The Judge, on of four appointed by Brigadier Si- ’ tiiveni Rabuka, made the 1 comment when address- 1 ing the opening of 1 criminal sessions in Suva. < Three other Judges have been named but not < sworn in, including a vet- 1 eran British Judge who declined the office of i

Chief Justice which is still vacant. Justice Parmanandam said that in the state of emergency enforced after both military coups, judges and lawyers had a duty to maintain and preserve law and order.

He said the judiciary was confident that the republic’s Constitution, now being drafted, would restore parliamentary democracy. The Judge also called on everyone to co-operate with the Government The emerging situation in Fiji had not been as

catastrophic as it could have been in so far as there was no loss of life as a result of any military activity, he said. Neither had there been anywhere near as many people incarcerated as in other countries where there had been a coup de’etat Justice Parmanandam supported the right of the accused to a speedy trial. The Judges face a backlog of six months of cases accumulated since thee first coup in May. The second coup was in September.