ADDRESS BY CHIEF JUSTICE AT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY FOR NEWLY APPOINTED JPs

12/02/2014


Address by the Chief Justice Mr. Justice Anthony Gates at the swearing-in ceremony for newly appointed Justices of the Peace [JPs]

Wednesday 12th February 2014 
in Supreme Court __________________________________________
The Permanent Secretary for Justice
Mr. Director of Public Prosecutions
Mr. Director of Legal Aid Commission
The Registrar-General
The Divisional Prosecuting Officer Southern
Representative from the Consumer Council of Fiji
Newly sworn-in Justices of the Peace

Friends and family
Ladies and Gentlemen

I believe there have been 50 or so new Justices of the Peace sworn in today. I will not say that is a record, it might be, but it is a significant number. I congratulate you all on this event, and thank you for offering your services to the public.

You hold an office that has ancient origins. Justices of the Peace go back as far as 1327 in England, when the Lord Chancellor, then the most senior of the King’s Advisors, made the appointments on behalf of the King. It was an appointment by the Crown. Every ancient Kingdom found it useful to have a person on the ground in every county, district or town to carry out official functions. Those functions now centre around the verification of persons or documents, the approving of search warrants, and sometimes the inquiry into whether a suspect has any complaint of ill-treatment whilst detained in police custody.

I understand you have received already some induction training as to your duties, how to keep necessary records, and on some do’s and don’ts of this post. This induction is very important. No doubt you will have been told you may not charge fees for your work, nor may you wrap up the JP’s work with other work for which you might properly make charge. If you do, members of the public are bound to complain. This will cause an inquiry to be commenced. If the allegation is found to be true, it may lead to the cancellation of your appointment. That would be an embarrassment, and none of you wish to have that brought down upon you. So no charging please, and no back door charging.

Besides the duties I have mentioned you will also be asked to witness signatures and to have statutory declarations signed in front of you. You will also find bailiffs or police officers coming to you for affidavits of service to be sworn before you.

Many things in life change over the years. At one time only prominent persons were appointed JPs. But some of those were either too important or too busy or never to be found at home. Alas they were not much help to their local communities.

Nowadays a JP is expected to be a person who is modest, down to earth, and helpful to all and sundry who seek his or her services. It is no good being “a bear in his lair;” the wife always having to put off the public by saying “He’s not in a good mood. Come back tomorrow.” You need to keep a reputation for being selfless, accommodating, ready to help, obliging, willing to assist.

We live in a consumer age. People expect, indeed demand, better services. So we must strive to give them that standard of services, if at all possible. A few months before the 3 years of your term is completed, you should make application for renewal. There is a form to fill and documents to be provided. A police check is made, and an assessment of complaints if any. During the term of your present appointment, training sessions will be laid on. These are compulsory, but you will find them most useful. You can exchange experiences with your fellow JPs and discuss issues arising, and you will receive instructions on topics of relevance to your role. A few years ago there was no instruction or training. There were many complaints reported. Nowadays, if you take the training seriously, there should be no reason for any complaints to be lodged.

It is important to take your duties seriously. Do not state on a document that you know the person when you have never seen him before. Only verify signatures when the person signs the document in front of you in your presence. Do not sign blank forms or affidavits for the police or for any other Department or organization. Each task must be carried out correctly and honestly.

Avoid conflicts of interest. If you had a family dispute in your own family, it would be wise not to be the verifying JP for documents in such a case. Ask someone from outside to be the neutral verifying JP. What you have to aim for all the time is to act independently, impartially, neutrally, and in a non-political non- partisan way in your duties. You have to act in some ways like a judge, in what we lawyers refer to as acting “quasi-judicially.”

Acting impartially sounds very easy when we say it like that. Every now and again read over the copies of the two oaths you took today. They will remind you of the need to adhere to those ideas every day of your service. In daily life being impartial could be more difficult. If the police ask you to sign a search warrant which is to be executed on your cousin’s premises or on that of a respected former work colleague, will you then telephone that person and forewarn him to prepare for the visit of the police?

Similarly, as the elections hot up, if the warrant is to be executed on the premises of a political party or a politician with whom you sympathized or even supported? You can see impartiality is not quite as easy as it sounds. But you must act correctly at all times. You must say to yourself “I shall do the right thing by my oath, for my office, and for all of the people I serve. My real friends will understand that, and not make impossible demands on me.”

It is a great delight to see you here with members of your families. Families can be of great support to you whilst you carry out your duties. To provide services to others you will find a wonderful source of satisfaction and an antidote to boredom. Seeing people go away after you have signed their documents or provided your service, looking relieved and happy for the help you have given, will make it all seem worthwhile to you. I wish you that satisfaction during the years ahead and I trust you will provide those needy persons with an honest and worthy service.

I thank Mr. Permanent Secretary Saneem for moving the swearing-in ceremony today. A tea has been laid on for you and your families in the marquee in the front lawn on the seaside of the building.

We will now adjourn.

A.H.C.T. Gates
Chief Justice