Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Part 3 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 97 through 109, establishes the Cabinet as the effective government of Fiji. This follows Westminster practice: in the Cabinet, collectively, makes executive decisions and its members exercise executive authority in the name of the President. Section 96 curtails the power of the President to act ...
The Constitution of Fiji is the supreme law of Fiji. There have been four Constitutions since the first was adopted in 1970. The first constitution, adopted in 1970 upon independence, was abrogated following two military coups in 1987. A second constitution, the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji, was adopted
The Great Council of Chiefs, a powerful gathering of mainly high chiefs which, among other prerogatives, elects the President of Fiji, also endorsed the report in June. The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 1997 was passed by the House of Representatives on 3 July that year, and by the Senate on 10 July. President Mara signed it into law on 25 July ...
The Westminster system is often contrasted with the presidential system that originated in the United States, [1] or with the semi-presidential system, based on the government of France. The Westminster system is used, or was once used, in the national and subnational legislatures of most former colonies of the British Empire, upon gaining self ...
All Fiji citizens, of whatever ethnic background, are guaranteed equality before the law. Their right to make their permanent homes in the Fiji Islands is also protected. Every Fiji citizen is guaranteed the right to form or join a political party, to participate in electoral campaigns, and to vote and hold political office.
Section 1 states that "The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a sovereign, democratic state." This underscoring of Fiji's commitment to democracy comes against the backdrop of political instability that has sometimes plagued Fiji, resulting in two coups d'état prior to the adoption of the constitution, and a third and fourth since.
The Fijian Constitution formalizes this ban on the royal veto. Prior to 1987, Fiji's Head of State was, in fact, the British Monarch. When Fiji became a republic and replaced the Monarch with a President, no drastic changes were made to the institutions of the state, or to their functions.
The 1997 Constitution remains the supreme law of the Republic of The Fiji Islands and has not been abrogated; Parliament has not been dissolved. It was prorogued on 27 May 2000 for six months. The office of the president under the 1997 Constitution became vacant when the resignation of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara took effect on 15 December 2000.