Before 1871, when
Seru Epenisa Cakobau established the first unified
Kingdom of Viti under his authority, what is now Fiji was a patchwork of warring fiefdoms. Forming a government dominated by foreigners, Cakobau appointed
Sir Charles St Julian, an
Australian newspaper editor, as the first chief justice in 1872. St Julian died in office a few weeks after Cakobau ceded Fiji to the United Kingdom on 10 October 1874, under the provisions of the Pacific Islanders Protection Acts of 1872 (
35 & 36 Vict. c. 19) and 1875 (
38 & 39 Vict. c. 51), (amended in 1875), (
long title: An Act for the Prevention and Punishment of Criminal Outrages upon Natives of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean) which sought to bring the rule of law to British subjects who were using
unconventional methods to supply labour for the European-run cotton plantations in Fiji. St. Julian was followed as Chief Justice in 1875 by Sir
William Hackett. From 1877 through 1961, the chief justice of Fiji was
ex officio chief justice of the High Commissioner's Court, more commonly known as the
chief judicial commissioner for the Western Pacific, the chief judicial officer throughout the
British Western Pacific Territories, a supra-colonial entity established by the
Western Pacific Orders-in-Council 1877 (amended in 1879 and 1880), and by the
Pacific Order-in-Council 1893. Appeals lay to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. From 1942 to 1945 the High Commission was suspended by military administration during the
War in the Pacific. Headed by a
high commissioner for the Western Pacific, who was also
ex officio the
governor of Fiji, until the end of 1952, it included numerous islands, mostly small, throughout
Oceania. Composition varied over time, but Fiji (1877-1952) and the
Solomon Islands (1893-1976) were its most durable members. From the beginning of 1953, Fiji and Tonga were separated from the High Commission as a prelude to full independence, and the High Commission offices were transferred to
Honiara on
Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The office of high commissioner was separated from that of the
governor of Fiji and was now held by the
governor of the Solomon Islands). The High Commissioner's Court, however, continued to sit in
Suva, and the chief justice of Fiji remained the chief judicial commissioner of the Western Pacific until 1962. From 1962 onwards, functions of the High Commissioner's Court began to be transferred to the increasingly independent island states under the provisions of
Western Pacific (Courts) Order in Council, 1961. The judicial commissioner for the Western Pacific became the
chief justice of the High Court of the Western Pacific, and removed from Fiji to join the rest of the British High Commission in the Solomon Islands. The position was separated from that of the chief justice of Fiji. Fiji gained independence on 10 October 1970 as the
Dominion of Fiji. Although no longer connected with the British High Commission, the position of chief justice of Fiji continued to be filled by judges from Britain, Australia and New Zealand until the appointment of
Sir Timoci Tuivaga in 1980. The constitutional arrangements relating to the chief justice were temporarily overturned in 2000, following a
counter-coup by
Commodore Frank Bainimarama to neutralize a civilian
coup d'état instigated by
George Speight. The then-chief justice, Sir
Timoci Tuivaga, recognized the Interim Military Government that took office and abrogated the Constitution on 29 May, and drafted the controversial
Administration of Justice Decree that was immediately promulgated by the military administration. This decree abolished the Supreme Court, made the chief justice head of the Appeal Court, and raised the retirement age of the chief justice from 70 years to 75. These changes were reversed following a decision of the High Court to reinstate the Constitution on 15 November 2000, a decision upheld by the Appeal Court on 1 March 2001. ==Current chief justice==