Fiji Law Society

Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activities of all lawyers in Fiji . Historically, the President of the Fiji Law Society is a member of the Judicial Service Commission.

Fiji Law Society condemned the military coup, which replaced the government of Prime Minister Lizeni Karase on December 5, 2006 . Fiji Times and Fiji Village reported December 9 that the Society had banned the practice of seven military lawyers and warned all lawyers against accepting the position of Attorney General or Solicitor General in the interim government. After the interim government was proclaimed on January 5–9, 2007 , the Society recognized its reality, but not its legality.

The society condemned what it saw as an intervention in the judicial system by the military government after chief judges Daniel Fatiaki and Naomi Matanitobua were sent on forced leave on January 3, 2007 , and Anthony Gates took office as acting chief judge on January 16 .

Not all members of the Society supported his position on the interim government. On January 24, 2007, a statement was made by Rajendra Chaudhry, the son of the former Prime Minister and First Minister of Finance in the interim administration of Mahendra Chaudhry . He objected to what he considered to be the personal opinions that Sharma and Draunidalio presented as official statements of the Fiji Law Society - without consulting its members, many of whom shared his concerns, he argued. Also, Chaudhry called for a special meeting on this issue and threatened to join the breakaway body if his complaints were not considered. The next day, Draunidalio announced that Sharma made a similar statement to “crush” the internal opposition to counter the coup.

The Fiji Human Rights Commission (FHRC) announced on January 26, 2007 that it had instituted legal proceedings against the Society for suspending the licenses of five military lawyers on December 7, 2006 . The commission issued an order allowing Colonel Mohammed Aziz, military director of legal services and another military lawyer to resume practice. Aziz stated that the suspension did not allow him and his fellow military lawyers to represent their clients, and that this decision was biased, as he and the President of the Society opposed the lawyer in the upcoming trial.

Devanesh Sharma was elected to replace Graeme Leung as President of the Fiji Law Society on September 9, 2006 , and Tupou Draunidalo as Vice President. On September 28, 2007, at the annual general meeting of lawyers, Suva Isireli Fa was elected president of the Fiji Law Society ^[1] . On September 27, 2008, the President of the Society was elected Dorsami Naidu, who held this position continuously until June 14, 2014 , when he was replaced by Peter Knight ^[2] .