17 Aug 2009

Fiji's Chief Justice recruiting judges in Sri Lanka

10:16 am on 17 August 2009

Fiji's Chief Justice Anthony Gates is currently recruiting judges from Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The Interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told Fiji Live his administration is looking at sourcing qualified judges from Commonwealth member countries.

In an interview with a Sri Lankan paper, the Sunday Times, Justice Gates said the government planned sweeping judicial changes in April next year.

He said since Fiji and Sri Lanka were countries that inherited similar judicial systems, he wished to recruit judicial officers from Sri Lanka.

It is reported that Justice Gates last week met Sri Lanka's Chief Justice, Asoka de Silva, and Attorney General, Mohan Peiris, to discuss matters relating to his recruitment mission.

A senior official of the Sri Lanka Justice Ministry told the paper there would be no problem in obtaining leave from the Judicial Services Commission for these 2-year assignments.