Chapter 10: State Services. Chapter 10 of the 1997 Constitution of Fiji is titled State Services. Its fifteen sections establish certain civil service offices, specify their functions and jurisdictions, set out the qualifications and preconditions required of persons holding such offices, and prescribes the manner of their appointment.
Section 140 lays down the basic principles for the recruitment and promotion of state officers. With the objective of implementing government policies as effectively and efficiently as possible, appointments are to be made on merit, but care is to be taken to ensure equality of opportunity for both men and women, and for members of all ethnic groups. All levels of the state service should reflect the ethnic composition of the population. However, occupational preferences should also be taken into account when appropriate. This is a recognition that for cultural or religious reasons, certain ethnic groups may disproportionately choose or eschew certain occupations.
Section 141 requires all public office holders, except judges, to be citizens, although exceptions are allowed for with the specific approval of the Prime Minister.
Sections 142 through 145 establish several "independent service commissions." A new body, a three-member Constitutional Offices Commission is established for the first time; two other bodies, the Public Service Commission (four to six members) and the Disciplined Services Commission (three members, formerly known as the Police Service Commission), both established by the former 1990 constitution, are continued in existence.
All appointments to the three Commissions are made by the President of Fiji on the advice of the Cabinet Minister responsible for the civil service, following consultation by the latter with the appropriate Parliamentary committee, which is empowered to confirm or veto the nomination.
In the event of a vacancy or of a Commissioner being unable to carry out his or her duties owing to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Prime Minister may, after consulting with the Leader of the Opposition, advise the President to appoint someone to act in his or her capacity in the interim. If the office of the chairperson of any of the commissions is vacant, or if the chairperson is unable to perform his or her duties for any reason, the remaining members may elect a temporary chairperson from among themselves.
The section disqualifies from membership of an independent service commission persons who are, or have been in the three years prior to appointment: Members of, or candidates for, the House of Representatives or the Senate, or any local authority or representative body. National office bearers of a political party which has contested a general election or a byelection in the said three-year period. Holders of other public offices. Members of either of the other two independent service commissions. The chairpersons of the commissions are exempt from this rule, however.
The section further forbids the appointment of members of any independent service commission to any other state service during their tenure as commissioners, or for three years after the expiry of their term. These disqualifications are intended to safeguard the independence of the commissions from political interference, and to forestall any potential abuse of office by a commissioner to secure appointment to another office.
Section 146 specifies the functions of the Constitutional Offices Commission and empowers it to appoint the Supervisor of Elections, the Ombudsman, the Auditor-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Secretary-General to Parliament, and the Commissioner of Police. In consultation with the applicable Cabinet Minister and with the Board of the Reserve Bank, the Constitutional Offices Commission also appoints the Governor of the Reserve Bank; this last office is declared not to be a public office.
Sections 147 through 151 specify the functions of the Public Service Commission. It is empowered to appoint, remove, and take disciplinary action against holders of public offices.