9 May 2007

Fiji's interim Attorney General defends move to release minutes

8:52 am on 9 May 2007

Fiji's interim Attorney General has been defending his move to release minutes of a meeting of the Judicial Service Committee that appointed the acting chief justice in January.

The move came after the President of the Fiji Law Society, Davnesh Sharma, questioned whether magistrates should be appointed while the makeup of the Committee meeting in January was being questioned in the courts.

The interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, says Mr Sharma's criticisms couldn't go unanswered and he had gained permission from the minister and the chairman of the meeting to release the minutes:

"So the reason why those minutes have been released, legally and properly is to clear the water so that the people of Fiji are aware. We need the confidence of the public to continue to ensure that the continuation of the administration of justice takes place."

The interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.