Fiji review proposes scrapping coup immunity, including for current prime minister

Fiji's Constitution Review Commission has tabled a report in parliament recommending sweeping changes to the country's supreme law. The proposals would remove immunity protections for people involved in past military coups and restore a bicameral legislature. The report was presented at a special sitting in Suva on Tuesday, with lawmakers given a USB stick containing the more than 200-page document.

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The review says immunity described as "absolute and irrevocable" should be reversed for those involved in the coups of 1987, 2000 and 2006. That would include current Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who was behind the 1987 coups. The commission also recommends changes to provisions that preserve laws and decrees made under previous military rule, and says any future immunity provisions should be prohibited.

The report further calls for a return to a two-chamber parliament with 60 seats, split between a 41-member House of Representatives and a 19-member Senate. It would also end the current single national constituency, under which all 55 MPs are elected from one open list. Under the proposal, voters would elect 26 members from constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, while another 15 would come from party lists.

The recommendations amount to a significant challenge to the constitutional order that has shaped Fiji since a series of coups altered the country's politics over several decades. Fiji's current constitution was introduced under the military government of Frank Bainimarama after the 2006 coup. Last year, the country's supreme court said the document carried a "democratic deficit" because it had never been put to the people, which opened the way for the review.

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The question of immunity has long been central to Fiji's post-coup politics because it affects whether past military interventions can be revisited through the courts. The commission's proposal to remove those protections would therefore have direct implications for political leaders linked to earlier upheavals, including Rabuka. It also reflects a broader effort to reconsider how power is shared and how constitutional legitimacy is established in the country.

The report says the changes are supported by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, adding another important actor to the debate. That support may matter because the military has played a decisive role in Fiji's political history, including the 2006 takeover. The proposal to prohibit future immunity provisions suggests the commission wants to close off a legal route that has previously shielded coup participants from prosecution.

The review is likely to trigger close scrutiny in parliament and beyond because it touches both legal protections and the structure of representation. It is not yet clear how lawmakers will respond, whether the proposals will be amended, or what timetable will follow. The key issue to watch is whether the recommendations move from review into formal constitutional change, and whether the immunity question becomes the main point of political contention.

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