RFMF Laws To Be Reviewed
The laws governing the operations of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces are to be reviewed to bring them up to par with modern realities.
The project, on which hangs the future of the RFMF justice system, was launched in Suva on Sunday. The RFMF legal representatives and their New Zealand counterparts attended the launch in a meet and greet dinner hosted by the RFMF.
Commander (N) Christopher Griggs, head of the NZ team, spoke on the issue.
He said the Manual of Military Law, currently used in Fiji, was outdated and had to be reviewed to suit the present conditions of the RFMF.
“The military justice system in Fiji is like a car. At the moment you’ve got a very old car. Then you’ll try to fix the car and eventually the car is beyond repair,” Commander Griggs said.
He added that the review of the legal system was like bringing a new car that would be a Fijian car that suited Fijian military circumstances and would work very well for the RFMF.
The RFMF Director of Army Legal Services, Lieutenant Colonel Kitione Tuinaosara, stated that their counterparts from the New Zealand Defence Force were here to help them review the military legal system in Fiji. “Currently we’re using the old British Laws, the Army Act 1955, the Queens Regulations 1972 and other military standing orders that are still hanging around and the objective of the review is to formulate a new military law which is designed for RFMF disciplinary and administration procedures,” he said.
Lt-Col Tuinaosara added that the legal document which will be titled the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Disciplinary Act is expected to bring about more independence, transparency, and a quick and lean mechanism of disciplinary procedures and uphold human rights issues. The occasion was attended by the Chief Justice, Anthony Gates, Judge Advocate Lieutenant Colonel Jiten Singh, Commander Griggs and his legal delegation from the NZ Defence Force, Ms Auelua Meremine a representative from the NZ Ministry of Defence, NZ Defence Attaché Lt. Col. Josh Wineera and NZ High Commission staff, HQ RFMF Chief of Staff, Captain (N) John Fox and the RFMF Legal delegation led by Lt. Col. Tuinaosara.