Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer who has served as the attorney-general since 5 June 2024. He previously served as the president of the Fiji Law Society. [1] 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 left his commissioning in that office outstanding until he was finally approved as judge advocate and commissioned as an army officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 4 January 2006.
Privately,Leung was a senior partner at Howards,a commercial law firm in the Fijian capital,Suva. He retired from private practice in June 2009 following the abrogation of the Fijian Constitution. He chose not to renew his licence to practice law after the military backed regime altered the licensing procedure,requiring lawyers to submit their applications for new licences to practice from the office of Chief Registrar of the High Court. Previously,the Law Society issued legal practitioners with practising certificates.
Political controversies
Leung was an outspoken critic of certain government policies which,he says,undermined the rule of law. In particular,he has opposed the early release of persons convicted and imprisoned for offences related to the Fiji coup of 2000,and the promotion of legislation which he believes undermines respect for the rule of law.
Leung strongly opposed the government's decision,announced on 29 November 2004,to release Vice-PresidentRatuJope Seniloli from prison,where he had served little more than three months of a four-year sentence for his role in the Fiji coup of 2000. "It lends the appearance of two sets of rules,or two classes of justice. It lends the appearance that if you're well connected and of a high social standing,you might expect more favour with the authorities. Conversely,if you are a person of lesser social standing,you might expect the full brunt of the law to weigh on you. Now that seems to me to be a travesty," he said.
Addressing the annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Nadi on 8 September,Leung said that the concept of true democracy was not well understood in Fiji. "Democracy,the rule of law and human rights march hand in hand. These concepts are not well understood by a good portion of the population," he said. "It is far more than merely participating in free and fair elections for a new government. It is about playing by a set of rules,respecting those rules and accepting the result even when it may not be what one had hoped for." Many Fijian people feared that could undermine their way of life,essence,and identity,he said. Rather than ridicule these fears,it was necessary to understand and address them,and to develop a new paradigm to illustrate the consonance between Fijian traditions and democratic norms. "The evidence shows a growing albeit reluctant acceptance of the rule of law," he said. "But time,patience and a genuine commitment not just of the country's leaders towards creating an environment that will allow democracy,human rights and the rule of law to flourish,will be required."
The Reconciliation,Tolerance,and Unity Bill
On 21 May 2005,Leung joined numerous politicians,human rights organisations,and the military in opposing the government's proposed legislation to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission,which would be empowered,subject to presidential approval,to grant compensation to victims of the 2000 coup and amnesty to persons found guilty of involvement in it. Leung said that he and the Law Society supported the bill's purported aims of reconciliation,tolerance,and unity,but were strongly opposed to the amnesty provisions of the legislation,which he said were "repugnant" and would empower politicians to overturn judicial decisions. "It's likely to demoralise the judiciary and sap it of the will to continue its work," he said. It would also encourage future generations to regard coups as something they could take part in with impunity.
In a letter to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase on 23 May,Leung said that as reconciliation and forgiveness were matters of the heart,they could not be legislated,and the bill would therefore fail to achieve its stated objectives. "The bill is not the answer to Fiji's problems," he said. He also expressed concern that the way the bill was written,linking compensation with amnesty,rich perpetrators of the 2000 coup would benefit the most. Citing the Fijian cultural inhibition on frank expression of strong opinions,he said that it would be unwise for the government to interpret the silence of the majority of its citizens as approval of its agenda. "It's the way we are –our people show their respect to their leaders by keeping quiet. It is considered rude to speak your mind," he said.
In a parliamentary submission on 16 June,Leung called the bill a recipe for instability,terror and payback,and a retrograde step,which could threaten present and future governments. "It would encourage the belief that if people think they have sufficiently good political reason to topple a government,politicians might consider granting them a pardon," Leung said. He expressed content that the decisions of the Commission and Amnesty Committee would not be required to state any reasons for their decisions,which would not be subject to appeal. He said it was "abhorrent and unacceptable" to create what amounted to retrospective legalisation of a terrorist act.
While opposing the legislation,however,Leung cautioned the military to show restraint,saying that Parliament had the constitutional Right to pass laws,whether good or bad,and that it was up to the people to punish politicians for bad laws at election time. "If the law is bad and unpopular,it is for the people through the ballot box,to show their displeasure," he said on 21 May. "But in a democracy,it is not the business of the military,however well-intentioned,to interfere with the law-making process."
On 4 July,the Fiji Times revealed that Leung had been trying for over a week to schedule a meeting with the Prime Minister,without receiving a response. Then on 5 July,Leung called for an urgent meeting with Attorney-GeneralQoriniasi Bale in an effort to persuade him to rewrite the bill,in response to recent comments by Military Commander Frank Bainimarama calling the bill a form of "ethnic cleansing." Leung said that every right thinking person should be alarmed that the debate had risen to that level.
Law Society President
On 3 September 2005,Leung fended off a challenge from Lautoka-based lawyer Iqbal Khan to win a second term as president of the Fiji Law Society,amassing 91 percent of the vote. The term was for one year. Khan's campaign had been undermined by allegations that he had been barred from practising law in the Australian state of Queensland for corruption. He chose to retire from the presidency in 2006,and Devanesh Sharma was elected to succeed him on 9 September.
Judge advocate
On 5 October 2005,Leung was named judge advocate of a court martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted of mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000. He was the only civilian member of the 10-member panel. On 19 October,however,he was abruptly dismissed by PresidentRatu Josefa Iloilo,but was subsequently reinstated on 26 October. The reasons for the dismissal and reinstatement were not fully clarified,but it was understood that the President had wanted to explore the matter thoroughly before ratifying Leung,the choice of the Military,as judge advocate. The trial was subsequently rescheduled,and adjourned,several times.
When the military commander,CommodoreFrank Bainimarama,raised questions about why the commissioning process was taking so long,Home Affairs MinisterJosefa Vosanibola revealed on 21 December that the government objected to what he said were Leung's exorbitant fees. "Even the Chief Justice ... (does) not get that kind of money," he said of the proposed F$130,000 contract. Commodore Bainimarama disagreed,saying that the same sum had been paid to the previous judge advocate.
On 4 January 2006,Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola announced that Leung had been approved as judge advocate,and commissioned as an army officer,with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The delay had been caused by the need to gain further information from the military,he claimed,but military spokesman CaptainNeumi Leweni denied this.
Speaking to the media on 10 January 2005,clarified that he would not be receiving the F$130,000 remuneration as a lump sum. That was his annual remuneration,he said;the monthly remuneration amounted to one twelfth of that –considerably less than what he would be paid by private clients,whose custom he had to forgo for the sake of the court martial. Leung said he accepted the role of judge advocate after many others had declined it,because he felt strongly about the rule of law and the concept of justice.
He was a vocal critic of Fiji's most recent coup which took place in December 2006 and embarked on extensive speaking engagements internationally including countries like Kenya,Jamaica,Malaysia and Hong Kong,lamenting the undermining of the rule of law and democratic governance in Fiji. As a result of his stand against military rule,he was temporarily banned from leaving Fiji. The ban was lifted following his mounting of a High Court challenge. Following his departure from private practice in 2009,Leung lectured briefly at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. In December 2009,he undertook a consultancy with the Rome based International Development Law Organization where he worked in Kenya,helping to support the work of that country's Committee of Experts which had been tasked to draft its new constitution. Following that assignment,he was involved in the training of judges and lawyers in international human rights law with the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team. In July 2011,he was appointed as the new director of the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers;he left this organisation in March 2012.
Commonwealth Lawyers Association and other legal associations
It was revealed on 6 March 2006 that Leung had been elected onto the Council of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. Founded in 1983,the council is a professional association of lawyers working to uphold the rule of law among the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations. Leung is the second lawyer from a Pacific Islands nation to serve on the council. The first was Ms. Alofa Seruvatu,former Secretary of the Fiji Law Society,who was elected in 2004. He was re-elected to the Council of the CLA in February 2011 at a meeting in Hyderabad,India. He is currently a senior Vice-President of Law Asia. He is also on the executive of the International Bar Association's Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee.
In 2022 he was appointed solicitor-general of the Cook Islands. In November 2022 he resigned,after nine months in the job.[2]
Personal life
Leung grew up in Levuka,Fiji,but now resides in Suva. He took up a short-term contract in September 2014 as Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nauru,and later as Solicitor General,then as Secretary of Justice,to replace Lionel Aingimea who stood for Parliament and was appointed Assistant Minister for Justice. Mr Aingimea who is a second term parliamentarian,is now Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Nauru. He took up an appointment as Solicitor General of the Cook Islands in March 2022 but resigned to return to Fiji in December of that year. He is now a legal consultant based in Suva.
Related Research Articles
Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party,which he founded in 2014,he began his career as an officer in the Fijian navy and commander of the Fijian military. Despite being suspended from Parliament,he served as the opposition leader from 24 December 2022 until 8 March 2023,when he resigned and was replaced by Inia Seruiratu.
Sir Timoci Uluiburotu Tuivaga was a Fijian judge,who was Chief Justice from 31 March 1980 to 31 July 2002,when he retired. He was Fiji's first native-born Chief Justice.
Josefa Bole Vosanibola is a former Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. He is the father of former Social Democratic Liberal Party MP Peceli Vosanibola.
Petero Mataca born at Cawaci,on Ovalau Island,served as the Roman Catholic archbishop of Suva,Fiji until his resignation in 2012.
In the early 2000s,Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's government proposed legislation to establish a Commission with the power,subject to presidential approval,to pardon perpetrators and compensate victims of the coup d'état against the elected government of Mahendra Chaudhry in 2000. Most Fijian politicians outside of the government came out against proposed legislation Along with many politicians,the Military and a number of business and professional organizations also came out against the bill. The campaign derived its name from the yellow ribbons promoted by the opposition United Peoples Party and worn by many citizens,as a sign of their opposition to the legislation.
The "Blue Ribbon campaign" was the name for the campaign promoting support for the controversial legislation introduced by the Fijian Government in 2005 to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission. The name specifically comes from the blue ribbons promoted by the ruling United Fiji Party as a sign of support for the bill. This campaign had the strong support of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase,Attorney General Qoriniasi Bale,and other members of the ruling coalition and was warmly welcomed by imprisoned coup instigator George Speight. The proposed Commission was intended to have the power to grant compensation to victims,and amnesty to perpetrators,of the coup d'état which deposed the elected government in May 2000.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama,Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces,had been a vociferous and uncompromising critic of the government's proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission,with the power to grant compensation to victims of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état,and amnesty to perpetrators of it. Among other objections,the Military claimed that its integrity and discipline would be undermined if soldiers who mutinied in the 2000 upheaval were to be pardoned.
General elections were held in Fiji between 6 and 13 May 2006.
The controversial Reconciliation,Tolerance,and Unity Bill promoted by the Fijian government throughout 2005 generated enormous debate,both locally and internationally. The legislation aimed to establish a Commission empowered to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup d'état that deposed the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry in May 2000. Support for the legislation came from Japan,while New Zealand opposed it. Australia,too,expressed strong reservations about the legislation,but also called on opponents of it,including the Military of Fiji,to show greater moderation. Non-governmental organizations in a number of countries took positions,also.
The Reconciliation and Unity Commission was a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation,Tolerance,and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 was passed. The legislation proposed to empower the commission to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the Fiji coup of 2000,and compensation to victims of it from 19 May 2000 through 15 March 2001. The Fijian President would retain a veto over the granting of amnesty.
Religion plays an important role in Fijian society. Indigenous Fijians are overwhelmingly Christian,predominantly Methodist but with significant Roman Catholic,Assemblies of God,Seventh-day Adventist,and other Christian minorities;Indo-Fijians are mostly Hindu,with a large Muslim as well as a smaller Christian minority. Religious organizations and preachers have been vocal in their comments on the controversial legislation that seeks to establish a commission with the power to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup d'état which shook Fiji to its foundations in 2000.
The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Historically,the President of the Fiji Law Society was a member ex officio of the Judicial Service Commission.
The tension between Fiji's government and military forces,which had been simmering for more than two years,appeared to escalate in late December 2005. Tension between the government and the military had been simmering throughout the year,with Commodore Bainimarama and other military officers making strongly worded public statements opposing certain government policies,including the early release from prison of persons implicated in the Fiji coup of 2000,and the government's promotion of controversial legislation to establish a Commission with the power to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the coup.
The crisis that saw a virtual breakdown in relations between Fiji's government and military forces in late 2005 and early 2006,generated fears of civil unrest and even a military coup. The dismissing of Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka,the Acting Land Force Commander,for alleged insubordination on 12 January 2006 was coupled with unusual deployments of troops and naval vessels. Both before and after it was resolved on 16 January with a truce brokered by Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi,the crisis generated a great deal of comment.
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culmination of a political crisis that had begun the previous year when the Qarase government introduced three bills to the Fijian Parliament. The Qoliqoli,Land Tribunal,and Reconciliation,Tolerance,and Unity Bills dealt with the ongoing ethnic conflicts in Fiji and the aftermath of the 2000 coup,and were considered to be pro-ethnic Fijian. Bainimarama,the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF),presented the government with a list of demands on October 16 that included withdrawing the bills. Attempts at negotiation failed and the military launched a coup on 4 December. Parliament was dissolved,Qarase and his cabinet were dismissed,and some civilian officials were placed under house arrest. After the Great Council of Chiefs refused to appoint a cabinet friendly to the military,Bainimarama reached an understanding with Iloilo and reinstated him as President on 4 January 2007. Iloilo then appointed Bainimarama acting Prime Minister in charge of the Interim Cabinet.
Angenette (Angie) Heffernan is a Fijian human rights and democracy activist and executive director of the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity (PCPI). Prior to PCPI she was a prominent regional environmental political campaigner for Greenpeace Australia for eight years,during which she campaigned against Japanese plutonium shipments in the South Pacific. She established the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity with Suliana Siwatibau and social justice campaigner Aisake Casimira to combat perceived corruption and bad governance in the Pacific region,She is known for her strong stance against political and state corruption and for her outspoken opposition to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.
The bilateral relations between the Fiji and the United States have improved significantly since Fiji's elections in September 2014,which restored a democratically elected government to Fiji for the first time since 2006. The United States had opposed Fiji's unelected government,which came to power through a military coup in December 2006.
In April 2009,Fiji underwent a constitutional crisis when the Court of Appeal ruled that the 2006 Fijian coup d'état had been illegal. The Court dismissed the Interim Cabinet led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama that had governed Fiji since the coup. However,President Josefa Iloilo announced on a nationwide radio broadcast that he was abrogating the Constitution. He dismissed all judges and constitutional appointees,and reinstated Bainimarama and his cabinet. He also instituted emergency rule which increased police powers and allowed media censorship.
RatuJosefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda,was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009,excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 to 4 January 2007. He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda,the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast. Like many Fijian people,he rarely used his surname and was known simply as Josefa Iloilo. He announced on 28 July 2009 that he would be leaving office on 30 July. At the age of 88,he was the world's oldest head of state.
A series of events took place in the Pacific republic of Fiji in 2006,involving an ongoing public feud between the government and military. Tensions took a dramatic turn for the worse on 11–13 January,with reports of unusual troop and naval deployments,crisis meetings of the National Security Council,and the erection of police roadblocks. Rumours also swept the capital that the Military Commander,Commodore Frank Bainimarama,had been arrested by the police on government orders,but the Military denied this. The crisis came to a head on the 13th,with Bainimarama announcing that he had dismissed the Acting Land Force Commander,Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka for insubordination. This event was a precursor to the military coup that finally took place on 5 December 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
