Fiji's coup leaders have given themselves immunity over involvement with the 2006 coup.
President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has issued a decree giving full immunity to those involved with the coup, and also for the coup in 2000 and the attempted mutiny at the Fiji army barracks that year, Radio New Zealand International reports.
The decree, dated 22 March, states that absolute and unconditional immunity will be irrevocably granted to leaders, including Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, his predecessor Jona Senilagakali, and a former president Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who abrogated the constuitution last year.
The decree extends the immunity from criminal or civil prosecution to all members of the military, police and prison service, and all others acting under official orders.
The decree says, however, that those who have already been found guilty of crimes will not be given immunity.
The 2000 coup perpetrators, led by George Speight, also gave themselves immunity for their actions but Commodore Bainimarama later reneged on the deal and had them arrested.
A specialist in constitutional law and South Pacific legal studies at the University of Auckland, Paul Rishworth, told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme that the decree could be a futile exercise.
Professor Rishworth says the decree could only be binding while the current regime is in power, and there is nothing to prevent it being revoked in the future.
1 year since constitution abolished
Saturday will mark a year since Fiji's consitution was abolished, its judiciay sacked and emergency regulatons were introduced.
The move came a day after a court ruling that a military takeover of power in December 2006 was unlawful. It was Fiji's fourth coup since 1987.
Major changes have been introduced in the past year, doing away with the majority of previous governing structures.
Auckland University senior lecturer in Pacific Studies, Dr Steven Ratuva, who previously worked in Suva, says one year later, all institutions of state have been re-configured.
He says they are now totally different to before and describes it as almost a social engineering process to re-configure society.
However, many infastructural works are being carried out, which have been awaited for a long time.
Dr Ratuva says this has caused many chiefs who were previously opposed, to say "young are doing a good job".
