iTaukei Appeal Workshop To Address Challenges Within Tribunal

The iTaukei Appeal Tribunal workshop is to address chal­lenges and gaps within the tribunal.

After the successful adjudication, a performance analysis was car­ried out and it was recommended that a capacity building workshop should be carried out for the Tribu­nal members that was held in Suva yesterday.

The two-day workshop will focus on the relevant iTaukei laws; the legal jurisdictions of the Tribunal; the Tribunal legal procedures and the draft iTaukei Appeals Tribu­nal Regulation 2016; the skills to analyse verbatim reports; under­standing the Commission’s legal documents; and the new i-Taukei writing system.

Permanent Secretary for the Min­istry of iTaukei Affairs and Minis­try of Rural and Maritime Meleti Bainimarama during his opening remarks said that such institution shows Government’s never ending support.

“The existence of the iTaukei Land Appeals Tribunal, the i-Taukei Land and Fisheries Com­mission and other iTaukei Insti­tutions speaks volumes of the Government’s effort to safeguard and promote the rights of Indig­enous people of this land,” he said.

“Today, approximately 91 per cent of all land in Fiji is owned through customary ownership by the indig­enous people and cannot be perma­nently alienated under any circum­stances.

This has given the indigenous peo­ple a level of security that has been noticeably absent in other coun­tries and has been central to their social and economic well-being’’.

Mr Bainimarama added that the 2013 Constitution recognises the ownership that iTaukei have of their lands.

“Our 2013 Constitution recog­nises the indigenous people or the iTaukei, their ownership of iTaukei lands, their unique cul­ture, customs, traditions and lan­guage. The indigenous rights of ownership and protection are stip­ulated in Section 28 to Section 30 of the Constitution,” he said.

Edited by Susana Tuilau

simione.haravanua@fijisun.com.fj