Justices of Appeal in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

are

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s who sit on the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and on the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, but not on the High Court. Justices of Appeal are appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

on the nomination of the Judicial Service Commission, which is required to consult first with the appropriate

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

and with the committee of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

overseeing the administration of justice. A Justice of Appeal is required by the Constitution to be a qualified barrister or solicitor with a minimum of seven years' experience in Fiji or another country prescribed by law, or a past or present senior judicial officer in Fiji or another country prescribed by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The judiciary is the only branch of government from which non-citizens are not excluded. This is in recognition that as a developing country, the government may deem it in the national interest to look abroad for judges with expertise in various aspects of the law. Accordingly, judges from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, among other countries, have sometimes served on Fiji's courts, including as Justices of Appeal. Justices of Appeal are required to retire on reaching the age of 70. The retirement age may be waived, however, for a term of not more than three years or for the duration of one or more sessions of the court concerned, to allow that person to continue in office, or to transfer to another judicial office, for a term of not more than three years. The waiver may be repeated, but not after the judge has reached the age of 75. No person, therefore, may serve as a Justice of Appeal after the age of 78. Compulsory retirement does not prohibit retired judges from acting in that capacity on a temporary basis. Judges, including Justices of Appeal, who are past retirement age may therefore be called out of retirement, from time to time, to temporarily fill vacancies or to act in the place of one who is absent or otherwise unable to carry out his or her duties.

See also