Jioji Kotobalavu, a former permanent secretary in the civil service and a public law lecturer at the University of Fiji, emphasizes the necessity of reviewing and amending the 2013 Constitution before proceeding with the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). He specifically points out the issues within Chapter 10, known as the ‘State of Immunity,’ arguing that the current blanket immunity for public officials—covering actions from December 2006 until the first sitting of Parliament—could severely weaken the TRC’s capability to address significant human rights violations.
Kotobalavu asserts that without changes to the immunity provisions, the TRC’s ability to fulfill its mandate may be compromised, hindering justice and accountability for past abuses. He compares the situation to South Africa’s TRC, which functioned effectively without such immunity provisions, highlighting that the existing provisions in Fiji’s Constitution are unjust and deny victims their rightful justice.
Despite strong support from leaders like Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Mahendra Chaudhry for the TRC, Kotobalavu advocates for a careful approach. He describes the ongoing public consultations by a steering committee on the proposed TRC and reiterates his strong recommendation for the TRC to start only after the 2013 Constitution is revised.
In his discussion of the Constitution’s provisions, Kotobalavu outlines the specifics of the state immunity granted to public officials and the implications for the TRC’s operations, stressing that these must be amended to uphold the legitimacy of the Constitution. He calls for a different approach to amnesty that would not undermine victims of gross human rights violations, underlining the State’s responsibility to provide reparations to those affected.