The High Court in Suva has set September 22 for the hearing of former director of public prosecutions Christopher Pryde’s judicial review application, a significant scheduling step in a challenge to actions taken against him by Fiji’s Judicial Services Commission and the President.
The matter was called before Justice Savenaca Banuve on September 19, when the court fixed the hearing date. Justice Banuve also previously granted Mr Pryde leave to proceed with judicial review in December last year after Pryde sought the court’s permission to challenge the administrative actions brought against him.
Mr Pryde’s application challenges decisions that trace back to about July 25, 2025, when the Judicial Services Commission recommended to the President that his salary and benefits be suspended. The President subsequently acted on that recommendation, purportedly under Section 117(5) of the Constitution, citing an alleged breach of clause one of Mr Pryde’s service agreement and a failure to meet conditions set out in a letter dated January 7, 2025.
Pryde filed an inter partes summons on October 22, 2025, seeking leave to challenge both the JSC’s recommendation and the President’s decision. The respondents named in the proceedings are the Judicial Services Commission as the first respondent and the President as the second respondent. The court’s setting of a full hearing date marks the next procedural milestone after leave to apply for judicial review was granted.
Mr Pryde, who is currently in New Zealand, has been absent from Fiji during parts of the litigation. The case concerns the suspension of his remuneration and benefits, measures that he argues should be subject to judicial scrutiny. The precise legal grounds and the remedies sought by Pryde will be aired when the court hears substantive arguments on September 22.
This scheduling development follows months of preliminary litigation and marks the matter’s progression from leave-stage hearings to a substantive judicial review. Observers say the forthcoming hearing will determine whether the JSC and the President lawfully exercised their powers in relation to Pryde’s employment and entitlements, although the court’s final decision will turn on evidence and legal argument presented at the September sitting.
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