13 Feb 2008

Fiji Women's Rights Movement Executive Director summoned to Court of Appeal

10:51 am on 13 February 2008

The Fiji Women's Rights Movement Executive Director says she was summoned to the Court of Appeal for a "dressing down" over statements she made in a newspaper article.

The article, which appeared in yesterday's edition of the Fiji Sun newspaper, quoted Virisila Buadromo criticising the legality of recent appointments to the Court of Appeal.

It prompted a request the same morning for Ms Buadromo to appear at the Court of Appeal that afternoon.

Justice Daniel Gounder, Justice Nazhat Shameem and Justice Jocelyn Scutt raised four points which they said concerned the court regarding the published article.

The judges told Ms Buadromo her statements describing judicial appointments as unlawful were misleading and inaccurate.

"In their opinion they said that it was misleading and inaccurate, and that they wanted me to be aware that it was inaccurate. Yeah it felt like a dressing-down... basically I got told off and that was it."

No charges were laid.