CHAN LAW

31/08/2024

Wow, delighted to meet the former DPP Josaia Naguilevu again. Congratulations and all the best in your new role as a puisne judge in Vanuatu.

19/08/2024

Very grateful to Chan Law friends who critique the page, offer constructive suggestions on improvement or even correcting errors, and keeping the author on her toes! Here's one critic, Siddiq Koya, meeting again at a seminar on the Constitution. Wish you well in your endeavours as you take another step in your journey of life.

12/08/2024

Saw it somewhere before and twisted my eyebrows, but saw it again today and thought: hmmmph, at that time, they didn't reckon it is possible. Wonder what Mr Apisalome Rabo Matebalavu (then Chair) will say now?
"The report notes that it would be impossible -and certainly undesirable- to codify the common law and the rules of equity now in force in Fiji and that in the other common law countries in the region that has not been attempted. However, it recommends that the courts in Fiji, in identifying any part of the common law or any rule of equity in force, should be expressly authorised to have regard to the judgments of the courts of other common law countries in the region and not only to the judgments of the English courts. In respect of the adopted statutes it points out the magnitude of the task of identifying all of them so as to be able to replace them by Acts of the Parliament and recommends against its being undertaken.": Summary of Report on Revision of the High Court Act, Fiji Law Reform Commission, September 1998, page 1.
Just impossible for one person to read over 45,000 cases from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Magistrates' Court, and from tribunals from 1874 to the present, and present them with the statute High Court Act and Rules of Fiji, for Fiji, anyway. What a feat! Mission accomplished.

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01/08/2024

happy meet up again with Kym Freriks of Paclii after 10+ years. This time, also met Liliviwa Baleimatuku. So, when you check out paclii next, think of the people who work hard to bring cases and laws to you.

23/07/2024

Hooray, our annotated High Court Act and Rules is on its way to Solomon Islands, where hopefully, Fiji cases will be quoted as authority for similar civil rules there. They might even improve the way civil rules are annotated there. Thank you Australia Solomon Islands Partnership for Justice. Thank you Adam Smith International. Thank you Justice Savenaca Banuve for your recommendation.

04/07/2024

27 years as lawyers - one a principal of a law firm and one an author of annotated laws. May the 4th be with us. Happy anniversary, Prem Narayan. Cheers.

22/06/2024

Usually, one can't just have a photo with a sitting judge, let alone then newly sworn in High Court judges Savenaca Banuve and Chaitanya Lakshman. It's a long way away from days in the dungeons, at University of Adelaide, Justice Banuve. It's also the same Alma Mata of a former High Court judge and Vice President of Fiji, Rt Joni Madraiwiwi, and the current Attorney General. Another common feature was that we happened to, at different times, work at the same law firm, which also produced Justice Lakshman. Wow. A former Vice President, 3 High Court judges, 2 Magistrates, a high commissioner, an attorney General, 2 presidents of the Law Society, a president of young lawyers association, and of course, a genius publisher of annotated laws.

14/06/2024

It's so important to gazette important positions so that the whole country is clued up. So, last August the gazette repeated a new panel for a particular 3 member tribunal. That's just so if you missed it the first time, it's there again. But the powers that be forgot to tell the old panel, whose terms expired in June 2021. The old panel issued a decision in April 2024. Is the decision valid? Unless... they heard the appeal in 2021 and are just issuing their decision 3 years later? There's a reference in the decision to a 2022 affidavit. So confused.

04/06/2024

A nice day when the appellate court thinks your employment judgment is correct, Justice Javed Mansoor. Too bad you've left our shores and can't savour the sweetness.

13/05/2024

Got invited to morning tea a few weeks ago and couldn't say no to Dharshika Prakash, Shahina Dean and Joshleen Kumar. Lovely to see these 3, who challenged all that was taught in PdLP days, to confident lawyers, with a clear vision to make a difference to society and the law. As descendants of girmityas, they do this country proud. Happy days.

30/04/2024

It's 8 o'clock. Time to clock on, workers. Today, we salute workers who, through their ingenuity, build up nations.
Happy birthday too to some of our laws having a 1 May start: Bankruptcy Act, 1945; Markets Act, 1945; Exchange Control Act, 1952.

25/04/2024

Always a pleasure to be part of a person's life- from law school student doing work experience while studying, then to don the wig in court. After many moons, I crossed paths with Joshua Singh, literally, and had to have a photo. Later, I accidentally wondered into a criminal court and just happened to watch Joshua before Court. The confidence. The articulation. So proud of him.

13/04/2024

At first, it looked like a new judicial officer, but on closer inspection, it seems the judicial officer signed a judgment without the required number of alphabets in the name. Slip of the pen? Another one for keyboard warriors? the sun will rise🌅

08/04/2024

Came across an interesting Ruling of the Environmental Tribunal where residents in the vicinity of a proposed container and bond yard complained about an environmental impact assessment report - noise level, geological structure creating an earthquake hazard, heavy machinery and vibrations, no inventory of avifauna species, impact of values of residential housing.... enough examples to cause the Tribunal to allow the appeal! Will this be the future of the environmental lobby?

14/03/2024

Beware, the ides of March.

07/03/2024

This International Women's Day, let us look back at history and see how far we've come since signing up to the International Agreement for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic 1904, and the International Convention in 1910, in 1972. The 1909 Agreement is immortalised in a Fiji law to outlaw immoral traffic of women. The Crimes Act 2009 contains no reference to immoral traffic, but speaks of trafficking persons and children. Do they have to be for an immoral purpose? Is this enough to cover treaty obligations? Yet, the language of immorality seems to be reversed onto a defendant, for example, section 226(2) speaks of selling, hiring out or disposal of a minor to a common pr******te or person of known immoral character. Does this do justice?
Enjoy your 🍷.

02/03/2024

If you're still in the mood for love, how about a coin for that special person. Not just any shape. How about a ❤️ shaped. With rose gold plating! Pity. Only worth half dollar. Pity. Released after Valentine's day. But you could get a cat- $5!

21/02/2024

Photo of the day: repeat customer Seforan Fatiaki with his copy of the oldest law still in use in Fiji today. So admire his drive and passion for the law, and achieving justice. Happy reading.

09/02/2024

Which of these dragon 🐲 personalities do you exhibit: magnanimity, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, direct, eager, zealous, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, ambitious, generous, loyal, idealistic, arrogant, demanding, eccentric, dogmatic, over-bearing, impetuous, brash?
祝您们 龙年快乐。🐉

05/02/2024

Some common spelling errors in submissions, and even by judicial officers who write the first word but really mean the second: sort- sought; tribal- triable; orbita- obiter; associtation- association; sighted- cited; chose- choose; plaintiff-defendant; Constitution- constitution; struck off- struck out; forums- fora; judgement- judgment; ex-parte- ex parte; de,-facto- de facto; ABU 11/04- ABU 11a/04; worker - grievor; section - article; clause- paragraph....
Attention: spell-check police at work!

04/01/2024

❄️ To start our new year, ❄️ and cool down the summer, how about a snowflake ❄️ with crystals? ❄️ For "1 dollar" ❄️ you can have one. Ok, it's a leftover snowflake ❄️ from 2023. ❄️ Let it snow ❄️

20/12/2023

We thank our subscribers who use our annotated laws to better the law. Iqbal Khan: the annotations manage to pick out the salient points, and that's what I like about it. He tucked it under his arm before anyone has a chance to sn**ch it. Patel Sharma Lawyers, Suva has been a steady subscriber over the years. Firdouz Khalim was brave enough to step out for a photo. Now that you have an advantage over your peers, we hope you make good use of the annotated laws. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you all.

08/12/2023

So, when a subscriber saw a table stuck in a schedule of an annotated employment law relating to a repealed law, which wasn't in the red books, it saw red, and quickly sent an amendment to Parliament, to change a definition to remove the table. Alas, it still didn't fix the definition to remove doubt as to who is an essential service and industry, which is still wider than the one in the Schedule. Wasted opportunity.
What is the fate of the other 75+ proposed amendments the ERAB spent 3+ years mulling over, because the ILO mission was soon approaching, beginning with the Government's own paper to amend?

24/11/2023

If you thought you saw Marie Chan in a few photos in a newspaper about Unit Trust of Fiji winning the President's Award in the Fiji Business Excellence Awards 2023, you are right. Congratulations to UTOF on this highest accolade. You can only set high standards for yourself and those around you.

22/11/2023

There is nothing more satisfying than hearing that the annotated criminal laws are used for discussion at a judge's conference this week. Hope to get some useful feedback. Users can also send comments via a private message to help us improve the product.
When the work started in 2002, then Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki endorsed its use. Since then, it is used to tag consistency in sentencing, providing helpful quotes for a statement of the law, driven judicial activism, helped lawyers even understand what the law is! The last one was surprising. One user said sometimes one can't make head or tail of a judgment, but when he saw the simplified note in the annotated law, he understood what the judicial officer was trying to say.
Is it time to break out the 🍾🥂?

30/10/2023

*Matching game* (to get me memory going in me old age). legal people I remembered to take photos with in October 2023. Help me match the description to the photo.
1. Chief Magistrate Waleen George, hears high profile cases; 2. 2 ex PdLP students, Jitendra Singh and Ashrit Maharaj, just admitted to the bar, discussing a certain no case to answer, but we were wrong; 3. Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, enjoying an occasional drink; 4. Managing partner of a law firm Glenys Yee- there's already an IFRS Standard to value intangibles; 5. ex PdLP student, Eta Naulumatua, who speaks han yu, taking on the heads of intellectual property in the Pacific; 6. Eliesa Tuiloma, drafter of a soon to be tabled Fiji traditional knowledge and cultural expressions Bill; 7. Tomasi Duanasali, City Lawyer, if not sure before, knows now what to do about the city's by-laws, with Laisa Vulakoro and Eremasi Tamanisau of Fiji Performers Rights Association, proposing an amendment to extend copyright protection.
Whew, did I get them all matched correctly?

24/10/2023

Even after the cabinet reshuffle, Siromi Doko Turaga gave a speech as Attorney General at the Heads of Intellectual Office Conference for Pacific Island Countries on 23 October 2023, so I thought it was an opportune photo moment. Also managed to get a photo with former Resident Magistrate, now Solicitor General Ropate Green. Lots of learnings for protection of intellectual property.

19/10/2023

And while we're all busy watching rugby and enjoying Fiji day celebrations, the Ministry of Education has quietly reversed admission of primary school students in class one. Students now have to be 6 years old by 30 June, else wait until the next year. Last year, you may remember the previous Government changed it to 31 December.
Did anyone enjoy the brief respite? Not enough time for popcorn, I suspect.

01/10/2023

Can the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction? In what circumstances? How about the Court of Appeal?

16/09/2023

what's a bliss snake? It's on our new $10 coin. Endangered? Checked the Endangered and Protected Species Act but it's not listed. The Act lists the flowerpot snake and the Taveuni Blind Snake. Why do we put a fake snake on our coin? Wonder if it'll go into circulation?