Law Society steps up pressure on Fiji

Fiji’s continued refusal to allow foreign scrutiny of its rule of law has come under public criticism from outgoing Law Society president John Wotton.

Wotton’s move follows the publication of a highly critical report by the Law Society Charity, first revealed in the Gazette.

The report, Fiji: the Rule of Law Lost, was based on charity chair Nigel Dodds’ covert research trip to the country. Chancery Lane is now stepping up pressure on the country’s interim government, Wotton revealed. He wrote to Fiji’s director of public prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, on 21 May proposing an investigation by an international delegation including the Law Society and the International Bar Association. He has received no reply.

‘They appear hesitant in accepting our offer of an in-depth investigation into transparency and the rule of law in the country,’ Wotton told the Gazette. Fiji’s ‘interim’ government seized power in a 2006 coup, and the country is currently suspended from the Commonwealth.