Author: aniket

The University of Fiji’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Shaista Shameem told the Constitutional Review Special Committee that Constitution Bill No 32 of 2026 contained an unbelievable number of drafting errors and internal inconsistencies that could have been eliminated with proper checks and proofreading prior to the Bill being released to the public.

‘Some inconsistencies in the Bill are so grave they affect the purpose and content of the proposed legislation’, she said. Professor Shameem provided the Special Committee with a four page list consisting of almost 100 sections containing grammatical, spelling and typographical errors, as well as contradictory clauses, cross-referencing mistakes, and evidence of disjunction between the wording of the clauses and the explanatory notes.

Professor Shameem said that these fundamental errors defied the three principles of legislative drafting, namely, plain and clear language, internal consistency, and evidence of clear policy intent. She said the massive drafting deficit showed that the vacant position of parliamentary draftsperson clearly needed to be filled before the Bill was taken through any other process, particularly the National Referendum. ‘We all need to understand what this Bill is about and, currently, everyone appears confused about the meaning and intent of many provisions’.

Professor Shameem pointed out that, in particular, there was significant variance between clauses 112, 138, 144 and several others and their corresponding explanatory notes. Furthermore, sections 26 (4) (d), 80 (5), 116 (6) and at least 10 other sections were so confusing that the clauses were rendered meaningless.

She said that, I secondly, another problem was the Bill’s inconsistency with international human rights law. For example, section 40 (1) (e), referring to ‘chastisement’ of children could represent a breach of Fiji’s commitment to the Child Rights Convention in Articles 19, 28 (2) and 37 (a). This was because there was no definition of chastisement in the Bill. ‘Chastisement could be a euphemism for anything, including assault of a child’, she said.

Furthermore, section 154 apparently split state sovereignty, a development not previously experienced in Fiji and clearly would be a matter of grave concern for those who think state sovereignty is indivisible unless successionism is proposed. At this point other factors like taxpayers’ opinions would become relevant, especially in view of the rest of Chapter 9 in reference to Rotuma, she said.

Professor Shameem said she had earlier told the Constitution Review Commission that a supreme and entrenched Constitution was not necessarily needed in Fiji due to the instability caused by previous Constitutions as no one could agree uniformly on what a Fijian Constitution should contain.

However, she had been convinced by her Constitutional Law class that a public good Constitution fair to all could be drafted, which they had done and the University had adopted their draft as one that would bring about the change and inclusivity that young people wanted. These students were present for the University’s submissions to the Special Committee and Professor Shameem gave the Committee a QR Code containing the students’ draft Constitution. She requested the Committee to consider the students’ draft carefully in view of the fundamental drafting deficiencies in the Government’s Bill No 32.

She said Bill No 32 had already given cause for concern among many people, no less the RFMF whose commander had expressed unease with the immunity clause, calling it ‘a mark of impunity’. Similarly, others had pointed to what they said were clauses inflicting discrimination between different communities.

Professor Shameem said that if her students, all of them eligible to vote in the next elections as part of the key voting demogaphic between 19 and 40 years of age, could produce a clear, consistent, public good Constitution which gave no special privileges or favours to anyone and respected all Fijians equally, there was no reason why the State, with all the resources at its disposal, could not.

University of Fiji JMS Student Celebrates Recognition Through Vox Populi

Suva, Fiji: Second-year Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) student Eseta Yavuvata of the University of Fiji has been recognised as a winner during World College Radio Day 2026, following her participation through the University’s campus radio station, Vox Populi.

Yavuvata said the recognition was both exciting and rewarding, describing the achievement as an acknowledgement of the effort she had put into participating in campus radio.
“It feels really exciting and rewarding to be recognised as a winner during World College Radio Day 2026,” Yavuvata said.
She said the experience had motivated her to continue developing her skills in both radio and journalism.

Yavuvata’s interest in journalism and her desire to gain practical radio experience were among the key factors that motivated her to participate in the World College Radio Day activities. She said she wanted to challenge herself, learn something new and become part of an international college radio event.

Through her involvement with Vox Populi, Yavuvata said she developed greater confidence in communication and teamwork. She also gained practical experience in speaking, interacting with people and sharing information with an audience.

“Most importantly, it gave me practical experience that I can use in my future career in journalism,” she said.

Yavuvata encouraged other students to take advantage of opportunities offered through campus radio and to step outside their comfort zones. She said Vox Populi provides students with a platform to build confidence, strengthen communication skills and gain practical experience in radio and journalism. The recognition formed part of Vox Populi’s participation in World College Radio Day 2026, which brought together college radio stations and student broadcasters in a celebration of campus radio.

As part of the recognition, a gift was presented to Yavuvata by Assistant Registrar Ms. Nikhat, on behalf of the University of Fiji.

The achievement highlights the role of Vox Populi – A Community Broadcast Service by the University of Fiji in providing students with practical opportunities to develop their communication, broadcasting and journalism skills beyond the classroom.
For Yavuvata, the experience is not only a personal achievement but also an encouragement to continue learning, participating and contributing to the University’s campus radio community.

Protecting and restoring the Pacific Ocean must be treated as a critical part of the region’s response to the climate crisis, students and climate experts heard at a pre-COP31 event at The University of Fiji’s Saweni Campus on October 6.

The OCEAN-CLIMATE NEXUS Storytelling: Pre-COP Community Event brought climate science, international law and the experiences of Pacific children into the same conversation as regional attention turns towards COP31.

The event was jointly hosted by The University of Fiji, the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Asia Pacific Regulatory Centre (APRC), Minderoo Foundation and Artesano Productions. It featured the launch of Voices of Pacific Children, a screening of the internationally acclaimed documentary OCEAN with David Attenborough and an expert Ocean Talks discussion.

The University of Fiji Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem said the event reinforced the importance of ensuring Pacific experiences and perspectives remained part of international discussions on climate change.

“For Pacific communities, climate change is not an abstract issue. Its impacts are being experienced through our oceans, livelihoods and communities, and young people will inherit many of the consequences of the decisions being made today,” Professor Shameem said.

“Universities have an important role in bringing together young people, researchers, communities and regional partners to examine these challenges from different perspectives. By combining youth voices, scientific knowledge and developments in international law, events such as this can help strengthen the Pacific’s contribution to finding practical responses to the climate crisis.”

The event placed particular emphasis on the experiences of Pacific children and young people, recognising that they will live with many of the long-term consequences of climate change and decisions being made today.

The launch of Voices of the Pacific Children provided one such platform. Published by the Asia Pacific Regulatory Centre, the book uses stories, poetry and artwork to present the climate experiences and perspectives of young Pacific people and draws attention to the links between ocean health, community wellbeing and the future of the region.

Students from Gurukul Primary School, Pandit Vishnu Deo Memorial College and The University of Fiji took part in the event.

PIDF Secretary General Ms Arpana Pratap said Pacific climate discussions could not be separated from the realities facing communities across the region.

“While Pacific leaders gather in Tuvalu ahead of COP31, it is equally important that the climate conversation is grounded in the realities of Pacific communities. Events like this bring those realities to the forefront, through lived experience, Pacific voices and collective action,” Ms Pratap said.

“For the Pacific, the ocean is not simply part of our environment; it is fundamental to who we are, how we live and how we sustain our communities. As climate change places increasing pressure on our ocean, it also places our food security, livelihoods, cultures and future at risk,” she said.

The connection between ocean health and climate action was further explored through the screening of OCEAN with David Attenborough, supported by Australian-based Artesano Productions and the Minderoo Foundation.

The documentary highlighted the ocean’s role as a major regulator of the global climate, including its capacity to absorb excess heat and carbon emissions, while showing how marine ecosystems can recover when areas are adequately protected.

Its central message reinforced the wider discussion at the event, that a healthy ocean is not separate from climate action but fundamental to successful climate mitigation and adaptation.

The legal dimensions of climate change and ocean protection were also examined during the Ocean Talks session.

Head of Corporate Services, Mr Seve Paeniu from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at The University of Fiji discussed developments in ocean governance, including the Advisory Opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

“The Advisory Opinion concludes that anthropogenic carbon emissions constitute marine pollution under UNCLOS. This is a landmark decision with wide implications for linking climate change to oceans, and highlights the importance of developing practical solutions to counter the effects of climate change on the oceans and their rich biodiversity,” Mr Paeniu said.

The event was held as Pacific countries prepare for further international climate negotiations ahead of COP31, with participants stressing that ocean protection, youth perspectives and Pacific experiences must remain part of the global climate agenda.