Former parliamentarian Niko Nawaikula has lodged an appeal against the High Court’s decision to dismiss his application for constitutional redress. The former SODELPA MP appeared before Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu last week.
Earlier this year, Nawaikula sought constitutional redress in a case concerning a magistrate who, he alleged, was instructed by the late former chief justice Kamal Kumar to transfer the case to the High Court, which he argued was unjust. However, his application was not granted, and Justice Bulamainaivalu mandated Nawaikula to pay $2000 to the Attorney-General’s office.
The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, as an interested party, was not assigned any costs due to the specifics of the case. In his ruling, Justice Bulamainaivalu noted that Nawaikula’s appeal to the Court of Appeal presented adequate alternative remedies to his constitutional redress claim and deemed it an abuse of court procedures.
Last week, Mr. Nawaikula was instructed to submit any necessary documents within 14 days, with the Attorney-General’s office required to respond seven days later. The case is set to be heard again on November 11 to establish a hearing date.