CHAN LAW

05/01/2026

Where were you on this day on 5 January 2007? What event in Fiji's history does it remind you of? Is this event worth recording in history? Will it be written as a coup or will revisionist historians write it as re-righting a wrong? When we asked this question several years ago, some Gen-Z didn't even know it had happened! And in their lifetime! So, let you be the judge of history. Here's a snippet from Interim Government of the Republic of the Fiji Islands Immunity (Fiji Military Government Intervention) Promulgation 2007 (Interim Government Promulgation No. 3) to remind you:
"AND WHEREAS the Commander of the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces reluctantly intervened by a Declaration of a State of Emergency on 5th December 2006 and other acts subsequently including as holding the office of Acting President of the republic of the Fiji Islands between 5th December 2006 and 4th January 2007, to return the governance of the Nation to an honest path.
AND WHEREAS the Commander as Head of the Interim Military Government of Fiji assumed and exercised the executive and legislative power of the State up until 4th January 2007.".
Leave a comment about where you were when you heard the news. If enough people put their collective will to it, it will be people telling their own history and owning the day. We don't expect profiles with half a nose, half a mouth or half an eye to respond, neither do we expect profiles with landscapes or animals, or pen pushers, or those who haven't posted since 2018 or even 2023. Probably ghost or fake accounts. Let's take back history.

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31/12/2025

And the winner of the most productive day in 2025 goes to 25 July! 🏆 In fact, most productive day of all time when 29 judgments/decisions/rulings were released in a single day. Take that, stats nerds. And a happy new year to you too. 🎇 Here, have some cheese and crackers.

10/12/2025

Finally, we have proof in black and white that nobody in that august house proofreads the drafter's bill thoroughly before it is passed, with "with this Act and it’s regulations," glaringly obvious. In the same law, they were keen to change "Chief Executive of" from "general manager for" but left "iTaukei land trust board" alone (the last 3 words were capitalised before the folks from the red books department arrived). The red books department managed to do away with capital letters in reference to the permanent secretary here and there, but smartly left it in the definition section capitalised. This amending Act doesn't fuss with that anomaly. Another bill to correct other errors, or a Corrigendum? The smart money is on Corrigenda when they eventually find more.

02/12/2025

Never a better opportunity for a photo opp with various heads of legal registries in one frame than at a Justice Summit on October 29: Sanaila Nukutaumaki, Official Receiver; Torika Goneca, Registrar of Titles; Makereta Sotutu, Deputy Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Ana Mataitini, communications Officer and speech writer; Abel Caine, who with Marie Chan represented Chinese Association of Fiji. It was a one time event in the history of Fiji where all stakeholders in justice -donors, Government Ministries, statutory organisations, judiciary, Fiji Law Society, non-governmental organisations- were allowed opportunity to update a stocktake of their sectors, and to chart a roadmap to provide better justice. Now, the real work begins. Thank you Ministry of Justice.

17/11/2025

Next question: how does one reference a precis note, quotation or paraphrased summary, sourced from Marie Chan's annotated laws?
The simple answer is attribution/acknowledgement as you would with a textbook: "[quotation]", Chan, M, Annotated High Court Act & Rules, 17 November 2025 ed., Suva, p5; or Marie Chan, in her seminal commentary of the Bail Act, points out at page 6 .... (Chan, M, Annotated Bail Act, 17 November 2025 ed., Suva, p6).
Here's one we found in Practice Direction 1/11: [see CPC annotated by Marie Chan 2008 at p 400].
Note: If a note is in quotation marks" " it is quoted directly from a court case. If there are no " ", then M Chan has paraphrased it. Please discern and attribute appropriately. Many a time, we find users do not attribute properly to M Chan, state in their submissions a particular principle is from a case, when it is in fact M Chan's paraphrasing. A judicial officer may just copy that submission onto a judgment, with the result that we field complaints about where in the court case the quotation comes from.
Please help reduce plagiarism, and intellectual dishonesty. Let's preserve copyright ©️.
Thank you for privately messaging us, and raising these frequently asked questions. Although we answered privately, it seems there's a need to say it publicly, as others may also have niggling questions. Glad to be of help. Thank you for using the Annotated Laws to better your understanding of the law.

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27/10/2025

Came across a Court of Appeal Ruling which refers to a case name, no citation, no date, and if already referenced, a supra. None of these helpful hints, so it became difficult to track. Searched for it on paclii- non existent! Either the judge or one of the parties got the name wrong.
When referring to a case it is most helpful if you can give the full names of parties, not just surname, court awarded number, not just an electronic citation, and date. Names of judicial officers would also help. If referring to a specific location where a quotation is extracted, give the location. Here are examples: Bal Sting v Ab Bo Can HBC 100/25B FJHC 9/25, 1 November 2025, George, AJ at [7]; Dr Eo Frill v State AAU 652/25 (an appeal from HAA 2/25L) FJCA 3/25, 2 December 2025, Qetaki, JA with Winter & Prematilaka, JJA at n 3.

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10/10/2025

As the sun sets on the 55th anniversary of independence, or 151st anniversary of the Deed of Cession, what were the motivations which led the chiefs to cede Fiji to Great Britain? Was it the 4 July 1849 fireworks, which burnt down the American Consulate, for which then King Ratu Cakobau, as ruler of Fiji, was blamed, and could not afford to pay, or the burning of the yacht, as the first Supreme Court case (as recorded in the national Archives) and school text books point to, or King Cakobau's waning power in 1855 and a need to bolster his power, which led him to make the first offer of cession to Britain in 1859, or was it the natives could not afford to pay taxes imposed by the British, or was it to save humanity, as this 17 February 1874 letter from British diplomat and naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard reveals. No mention of the birds he came to study, although his name synonymous with the Fiji white-eye (Zosterops explorator). This letter captures a pitiful scene which must have spurred the British on, after more than 15 years of debating whether to annex. Was it a move to rid itself of Cakobau's 1871 and 1873 Constitutions, which established the judiciary and legislature? By stroke of a pen on 10 October 1874, the nation's fate was decided. All laws previous to 1 January 1875 then vanished! Not a trace in the first revised edition of laws. Happy Fiji Day.

01/10/2025

Question: When did legal aid exist in Fiji? 1996? No, that's when the Act was enacted. Some of us remember being duty solicitors, until a formal office was established under the dome of Government Buildings. Even before then, there was a public defender's office. The Trust Accounts Act required a percentage of interest from trust account funds to be directed to legal aid. Try 1875 or even earlier. Back then, the test was the public interest. after all, the public purse was used, as this letter dated 22 May 1875 from the Native Affairs office reveals.

22/09/2025

Well, in the middle of a sentence, in a consultation among NGOs and some governmental agencies on draft 7 of a proposed bill on criminal records, the Acting Attorney General suddenly spots an attendee and proclaims: "hallo, Marie Chan. Everybody, this is Marie Chan". Well! The facilitator Luke Daunivalu did well to move the discussion along. Then, just before lunch time came the obligatory photo session and a side photo. Maybe the attendee earned the free lunch.

16/09/2025

While looking at the news, saw these DPP prosecutors holding what looks like the annotated Crimes, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing and Penalties Acts in their hands. Let's go.

25/08/2025

How wonderful to see Nadi Magistrate, Mareta Tikoisuva in Suva, just for the weekend last month, then back to Court. For someone who had a stint at DPP and in private practice, the transition to Magistracy was smooth. Bonus: she uses the annotated laws in court.

24/07/2025

The International Court of Justice declares the existence of a human right to a clean and healthy environment Not just customary status. This cautionary advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change is instructive, even if cautionary and doesn't go far enough, according to some members of that Court. Good to see Professor Hilary Charlesworth on the panel, from International Law days at the University of Adelaide, although dissenting in some parts, Read the 140 page document:https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/187/187-20250723-adv-01-00-en.pdf . Is Fiji keeping its international obligations, via the Climate Change Act s8 to implement Nationally Determined Contribution? Will the lawbooks have to be re-written to cater for this major advisory opinion? If you've been hiding under a rock in the last 12 hours, listen to the audio. You will need to open up the local laws and international conventions to keep up with the opinion and terminology.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.