Fiji risks becoming a “safe haven” for people flagged by international law-enforcement agencies unless legal gaps are closed, the Immigration Department warned at a Constitution Review Commission (CRC) hearing this week. Permanent secretary for Immigration Aliki Vuli Salusalu told commissioners that weaknesses in the removal process and unclear legal definitions were allowing some individuals subject to international notices to remain in the country.
“We’ve been questioned… that we become a safe haven for people that are under Interpol… and they use legal process to stay,” Salusalu said, emphasising that those facing international red notices or similar flags often rely on protracted court procedures to delay deportation. “And they use legal process to stay,” he reiterated, arguing the current legislative framework did not give immigration authorities sufficient tools to act decisively.
Salusalu called specifically for clearer definitions within Fiji law, including an explicit articulation of what constitutes a national security threat in the context of removals. “Can we have an explicit definition… in terms of the removal process, and determine that some… have impinged national security,” he asked the commission, signalling concern that the absence of precise statutory language leaves room for judicial delays and legal challenges that frustrate enforcement.
CRC chairman Sevuloni Valenitabua agreed the matter warranted urgent attention and urged the courts not to be used as a forum for delaying removal when orders are already in place. “If there is already an order… then they should not use a court… to delay the process,” Valenitabua told the hearing, reflecting a wider tension between upholding individual legal protections and ensuring national security and compliance with international obligations.
The commission heard proposals that go beyond simple constitutional amendment. Officials suggested clearer legislation—potentially enacted outside the Constitution—could strengthen enforcement powers while preserving essential legal safeguards. That approach would aim to strike a balance between enabling the state to act on credible international law-enforcement information and protecting due process rights under Fijian law.
Immigration officials told the CRC that current statutory provisions are inadequate to deal with cases where foreign warrants or Interpol notices are involved, and that ad hoc reliance on court procedures has created inconsistency and delay. The discussion feeds into the broader remit of the CRC, which is reviewing constitutional and related legal frameworks and may recommend changes to Parliament or the government for legislative reform.
What happens next remains undecided. The CRC will continue taking submissions as part of its review, and any recommendation for new or amended laws would need to be drafted and considered by lawmakers. For now, the hearing has placed the spotlight on the intersection of immigration practice, international policing notices and national security — and on the need for clearer legal pathways to resolve such cases more efficiently.
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