Lawyers present at the first day of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions conference in Nadi today were challenged to look beyond just pushing for a conviction but to instead work harder to bring down those behind crimes in Fiji today.
And opening the conference, Speaker of the Fiji Parliament Honorable Filimoe Jitoko said adapting legal processes to match the length and progress of organized crimes today in Fiji was of utmost importance.
“Dismantling criminal enterprises we must shift our focus from securing convictions, to dismantling the power of organized crime.”
“This demands the effective use of tools like “Unexplained Wealth Orders” (UWOs) to strip criminals of their illicit gains, hitting them where it hurts most—their wallets/pockets (digital wallets/crypto currency wallets).”
“As we open this conversation, I am hoping that it will spark courageous ideas and shape a forward-looking vision for “justice that meets the demands of our time”.
The Speaker said the changing times and the conditions of crime today demands that we adopt legal systems that will help prosecute cases.
“You must become experts in a domain where evidence is digital, crimes are virtual, and the trail is encrypted. This means going beyond the foundational Cybercrime Act 2021 to confront A.I.-driven crimes, deepfake fraud, and complex crypto-asset flows. The modern prosecutor must be as fluent in the language of digital forensics as in the rules of evidence.
“Leading with Trauma Informed Approach. The landmark Child Justice Act 2024 is a paradigm shift. It requires a prosecutor to be not only a legal technician but also a guardian of the vulnerable.”
“The modern courtroom must be a place where the voices of children and victims are protected, not re-traumatised. But this approach should be all embracing and built into all our other new laws and cognisant of the victims and survivors of any traumas, including all the coups and political upheavals of our recent history.”
The Speaker also added that climate change is set to affect the legal landscape and this must be effected into the work in Fiji.
“But perhaps the most profound redefinition will come from addressing a threat that was, until recently, on the periphery of criminal law: climate change. The landmark July 2025 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion has irrevocably changed the legal landscape.”
“It has lifted the 1.5°C target from a political aspiration to a legal benchmark, clarifying state obligations to act with due diligence. For you, as prosecutors, this is no longer a distant diplomatic issue. It has direct implications for your work under Fiji’s Climate Change Act of 2021.”
“We are entering an era where corporate boards and directors have a heightened duty to incorporate climate risks into their governance. Failure to exercise this due diligence, leading to severe environmental damage, could foreseeably become a matter for enforcement and liability. This is the new frontier of accountability, and the ODPP must be prepared.”
