President of the Court of Appeal (Fiji)

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

's Court of Appeal

Court of Appeal (Fiji)

The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitution came into effect; the other two courts predated it...

is chaired by the President of the Court of Appeal. The Chief Justice of Fiji

Chief Justice (Fiji)

The Chief Justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. He or she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is required by the Constitution to consult the Leader of the Opposition. This does not give the Leader of the Opposition a veto, only the right to be consulted. ...

is not permitted to hold this position; in order to give the Court of Appeal a degree of independence from the High Court

High Court (Fiji)

The High Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of Fiji—the others being the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Constitution empowers Parliament to create other courts; these are subordinate to the High Court, which is authorized to oversee all...

and the Supreme Court

Supreme Court (Fiji)

The Supreme Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court is declared to be "the final appellate court of the State" - in other words, there is no judicial authority higher than the...

, the Chief Justice, who chairs both courts, is constitutionally

Constitution of Fiji

The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....

disqualified from presiding over, or even sitting on, the Court of Appeal.

The following persons have served as President of the Court of Appeal since it was established in 1999.

President of the Court of Appeal	Term of office
Jai Ram Reddy Jai Ram Reddy Jai Ram Reddy is an Indo-Fijian statesman, who has had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government...	2000
Sir Timoci Tuivaga Timoci Tuivaga Sir Timoci Uluiburotu Tuivaga is a Fijian judge, who served as Chief Justice from 1974 to 1 August 2002, when he retired. He was Fiji's first native-born Chief Justice.- Education and career :... [1]	2000 - 2 March 2001
vacant	2001-2002
Jai Ram Reddy Jai Ram Reddy Jai Ram Reddy is an Indo-Fijian statesman, who has had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government...	2002 - 2003
Gordon Ward Gordon Ward Lord Chief Justice Gordon Ward was a judge on the Supreme Court of Tonga. He resigned this post in protest at attempts to ban the Taimi 'o Tonga newspaper, a paper unsympathetic to the government, a move which he considered to be unconstitutional. On leaving this post, he took up a new position as...	2002 - present
[1] Although the Chief Justice is not allowed to preside over the Court of Appeal, an anomaly existed in 2000-2001, owing to the suspension of the Constitution Constitution of Fiji The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama.... by the Interim Military Government in the wake of the Fiji coup of 2000 Fiji coup of 2000 The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and... . Accordingly, the Chief Justice, Sir Timoci Tuivaga, assumed the Presidency of the Court of Appeal until constitutional arrangements were restored in March 2001.

See also