Pacific

Fiji Law Society President in professional probe

14:33 pm on 27 April 2010

The President of the Fiji Law Society, Dorsami Naidu, is due to appear before the Legal Services Commission again tomorrow on charges to do with professional conduct.

The Legal Commission was set up by the interim regime towards the end of last year under the Legal Practitioners Decree.

That decree made membership of the Fiji Law Society voluntary and took away its responsibility for hearing professional complaints.

The duty for referring complaints now lies with the Chief Registrar of the High Court, Major Ana Rokomokoti.

Seven charges were originally brought against Mr Naidu, but four are not being actioned at this stage.

The three remaining are to do with alleged misconduct by a legal practitioner and cover matters such as billing, speed in resolving an estate and a planned land purchase.

The Commissioner, former High Court Judge John Conners, has powers under the decree to impose fines of up to half a million Fiji dollars or suspend or strike a practitioners name from the roll of lawyers.