President of the Court of Appeal (Fiji)

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Judiciary of Fiji

Judicial officers Chief Justice Appeal Court President Chief Magistrate Justice of Appeal Puisne judges High Court Masters Institutions Supreme Court Court of Appeal High Court Magistrates Courts Judicial Service Commission

Fiji's Court of Appeal is chaired by the President of the Court of Appeal. The Chief Justice of Fiji is not permitted to hold this position; in order to give the Court of Appeal a degree of independence from the High Court and the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice, who chairs both courts, is constitutionally disqualified from presiding over, or even sitting on, the Court of Appeal.

The following persons have served as President of the Court of Appeal since it was established in 1999.

President of the Court of Appeal	Term of office
Jai Ram Reddy	2000
Sir Timoci Tuivaga [1]	2000 - 2 March 2001
vacant	2001-2002
Jai Ram Reddy	2002 - 2003
Gordon Ward	2002 - present
[1] Although the Chief Justice is not allowed to preside over the Court of Appeal, an anomaly existed in 2000-2001, owing to the suspension of the Constitution by the Interim Military Government in the wake of the Fiji coup of 2000. Accordingly, the Chief Justice, Sir Timoci Tuivaga, assumed the Presidency of the Court of Appeal until constitutional arrangements were restored in March 2001.

[edit] See also

• Constitution of Fiji: Chapter 9 (detailing the composition and role of the judiciary)