The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

s in Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

. Devanesh Sharma

Devanesh Sharma

Devanesh Sharma is a Fijian lawyer of Indian descent. He was the president of the Fiji Law Society for one year. In his capacity as president of the law society, he made many comments on the proceedings of the interim Government, led by Frank Bainimarama, and how the society did not agree with what...

 was elected to replace Graeme Leung

Graeme Leung

Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former President of the Fiji Law Society. He was also Chairman of the Electoral Commission, and was named as Judge Advocate of a Court Martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000, but a number of complications...

 as President of the Fiji Law Society on 9 September 2006, and as such he holds membership ex officio on the Judicial Service Commission. The Vice-President of the Society is Tupou Draunidalo

Tupou Draunidalo

Tupou Draunidalo is a Fijian lawyer. On 9 September 2006, she was elected Vice-President of the Fiji Law Society, defeating Rajesh Gordon. -Political activism and arrest:...

.

The Fiji Law Society condemned the military coup

2006 Fijian coup d'état

The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis....

 which deposed the government of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Fiji

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister was appointed by the President under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution....

 Laisenia Qarase

Laisenia Qarase

Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...

 on 5 December 2006. Fiji Times

Fiji Times

The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....

 and Fiji Village

Fiji Village

The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...

 reported on 9 December that the society had barred seven military lawyers from practicing, and warned any lawyers against accepting the positions of Attorney-General

Attorney-General (Fiji)

Fiji's chief governmental legal officer is the Attorney General. According to the Constitution of Fiji, the Attorney-General is required to be a qualified lawyer and sits in the Cabinet. The office of the Attorney-General is the oldest surviving executive office in Fiji, having been established...

 or Solicitor-General

Solicitor-General (Fiji)

The Solicitor-General of Fiji is the Chief Executive Officer of the Attorney-General's Chambers, and as such assists the Attorney-General in advising the government on legal matters, and in performing legal work for the government...

 in the interim government. After an interim government was announced on 5-9 January 2007, the Society recognized its reality, but not its legality.

The Society condemned what it saw as interference in the Judiciary by the military-backed government, after Chief Justice

Chief Justice (Fiji)

The Chief Justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. He or she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is required by the Constitution to consult the Leader of the Opposition. This does not give the Leader of the Opposition a veto, only the right to be consulted. ...

 Daniel Fatiaki

Daniel Fatiaki

Taniela Vafo'ou Fatiaki CF was the Chief Justice of Fiji from 1 August 2002, when he succeeded Sir Timoci Tuivaga, till 5 December 2008. As Chief Justice, he presided over both the High Court and the Supreme Court, but is constitutionally barred from presiding over, or even sitting on, the...

 and Chief Magistrate

Chief Magistrate (Fiji)

The Chief Magistrate is a judicial officer in the government of Fiji, who presides over the Magistrates Courts.The following persons have held office as Chief Magistrate :*Sekove Naqiolevu*Sailesi Temo*Naomi Matanitobua...

 Naomi Matanitobua

Naomi Matanitobua

Naomi Matanitobua is a Fijian judge, who took office as Fiji's Chief Magistrate on 14 December 2005, succeeding David Balram. Her term of appointment is for three years.Matanitobua's first application for the position, in 2002, was not successful...

 were sent on forced leave on 3 January 2007, and Anthony Gates

Anthony Gates

Anthony Harold Cumberland Thomas Gates is Acting Chief Justice of Fiji.-Early life:Gates was born in the United Kingdom and is a graduate of Cambridge University, and holds Australian citizenship. He had served as a volunteer teacher as a VSO in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka...

 sworn in as Acting Chief Justice on 16 January. http://www.fijitv.com.fj/index.cfm?go=tv.resources&cmd=forumview&cbegin=0&uid=fijionenews&cid=11678

Not all members of the Society supported its stance against the interim government. Rajendra Chaudhry

Rajendra Chaudhry

- Career :Chaudhry is best-known as the son of Mahendra Chaudhry, leader of the Fiji Labour Party who was deposed as Prime Minister in the Fiji coup of 2000...

, son of former Mahendra Chaudhry

Mahendra Chaudhry

Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...

, a former Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Fiji

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister was appointed by the President under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution....

 and currently the Minister for Finance in the interim administration, spoke out on 24 January 2007, objecting to what he saw as personal opinions held by Sharma and Draunidalo being presented as official positions of the Fiji Law Society - without consulting its members, many of whom shared his concerns, he claimed. He called for a special meeting to deal with the issue, and threatened to join a breakaway body if his grievances were not addressed. http://www.fijitv.com.fj/index.cfm?go=tv.resources&cmd=forumview&cbegin=0&uid=fijionenews&cid=11766 The next day, Draunidalo announced that Sharma had ordered such a meeting, in order to "crush" internal opposition to its anti-coup stance. http://www.fijilive.com/news/show/news/2007/01/25/25fijilive02.html

The Fiji Human Rights Commission

Fiji Human Rights Commission

The Fiji Human Rights Commission was created by presidential decree in 2009, succeeding the entity of the same name established as an independent statutory body under the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands.- The 1997 Commission :...

 (FHRC) announced on 26 January 2007 that it had commenced legal proceedings against the FLS for suspending the practicing certificates of five Military lawyers on 7 December 2006. The FHRC was seeing an injunction to allow Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Mohammed Aziz

Mohammed Aziz

-Biography:Mohammed Aziz, is a singer of the Indian film industry. He was born on the 2nd of July 1954 in a spiritual family. His nickname is Munna and his real name is Syed Mohammed Azizunnabi. Being an ardent lover of music and Mohammed Rafi, he started singing from the very childhood and gained...

, the Military's Director of Legal Services, and one other Military lawyer to resume practice. Aziz said the suspension made it impossible for him and his fellow-military lawyers to represent their clients, and that the decision was biased because he and the FLS President were opposing counsel in an upcoming trial. http://www.fijivillage.com/artman/publish/article_35407.shtml

On 28 September 2007, at the Annual General Meeting, Suva lawyer Isireli Fa, was elected president of the Fiji Law Society.