Chapter 7: Executive Government. Chapter 7 of the 1997 Constitution is titled Executive Government. There are five Parts, further subdivided into thirty sections, which set out the organization, functions, and responsibilities of the executive branch of government. Modeled on the Westminster system, Fiji's constitution does not separate the Executive and Legislative branches of government as strictly as do many democracies, but despite considerable overlap, the branches of government are nevertheless constitutionally distinct.
Part 1 Executive Authority
Part 1 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 85 through 88, establishes the offices of President and Vice-President and briefly summarizes their functions and responsibilities, on which the remainder of the chapter elaborates.
Sections 85 through 87 declare the President to be Fiji's Head of State, in whom executive authority is "vested." Later sections reveal this authority to be largely, though not entirely, symbolic. The President is further declared to be the symbol of the unity of the State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the military forces.
Section 88 establishes the office of Vice-President, who is empowered to take over the functions of the President in the event of the President being absent or otherwise unable to carry out his duties. If the President and Vice-President are both unable to perform Presidential duties, the Speaker of the House of Representatives may carry out the necessary functions.
In the event of the death, resignation, or incapacitation of the President, a new President and Vice-President must be appointed within three months. The Vice-President is authorized to exercise the functions of the presidency while the office is vacant. The Vice-President may be a candidate to fill the vacancy, but does not automatically succeed to it. This stipulation is designed to remove any vested interest a disloyal Vice-President might potentially have of producing a vacancy in the Presidency.
In practice, on the two occasions that the Presidency has fallen vacant (as of September 2004), the Vice-President has, after performing the President's functions in an interim capacity, been duly appointed to fill the vacancy. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau died in 1993 and was succeeded by his Vice-President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Mara was deposed in the Fiji coup of 2000, but after the Constitution was restored and Mara declined reappointment, his Vice-President, Josefa Iloilo was appointed to succeed him.
Part 2 President and Vice-President
Part 2 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 89 through 95, sets out the qualifications, manner of election, and formula for removal of the President and Vice-President, and miscellaneous rules relating to the institution of the two offices.
Sections 89 through 91 stipulate that the President and Vice-President shall be appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs "after consultation with the Prime Minister." It is not clear whether or not this clause gives the Prime Minister a veto. It has never been tested.
The President and Vice-President are required to be Fijian citizens who have had a distinguished career in any aspect of national or international life, whether in the public or private sectors, and must meet the qualifications required of candidates for the House of Representatives. The offices of President and Vice-President are incompatible with any other offices; appointment to either position automatically terminates one's service in whatever other office he or she might be serving in at the time. The term of office is five years, renewable once.
Section 92 provides for the replacement of the Vice-President in the event of the office becoming vacant. The President nominates another person to complete the unexpired term of the Vice-President, subject to the approval of the Great Council of Chiefs.
Section 93 authorizes the Great Council of Chiefs to remove the President or Vice-President from office for "infirmity of body or mind... or for misbehaviour." This is not an easy process, however. First, the Prime Minister must notify the Chief Justice that he considers the President or Vice-President unable to carry out his duties or unfit to remain in office. In the event of alleged physical or mental infirmity, the Chief Justice is required to establish a medical board consisting of three qualified medical practitioners; in the event of alleged treason, felony, bribery, or other misbehaviour, a tribunal of three persons, each of whom is eligible to be a judge, is to be appointed. After makings thorough investigation, the medical board or tribunal is to present its findings to the Great Council of Chiefs, whose decision is final.