Elizabeth Rice Photo: Facebook / Fiji Women's Crisis Centre
Fiji's sacked assistant director of public prosecutions Elizabeth Rice will be pursuing legal action against the state for unlawful and unfair dismissal as well as for discriminatory treatment based on race and defamation.
Rice, who is an Australian citizen and resides with her husband in New Zealand, claims she was unlawfully sacked by the acting director of public prosecutions John Rabuku on 19 January "on the basis of race", lawyers representing her confirmed to RNZ Pacific.
Her dismissal is another non-policy related matter the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition will now have to deal with, taking much-needed focus away from policy issues impacting the people.
Reports of Rice being dismissed first were published on 24 January on Grubsheet Feejee blogsite managed by former Fiji government communications advisor Graham Davis.
"Rice claims that ... Rabuku sacked her after telling her that while her performance was commendable, he was removing her because she was white and he wanted an iTaukei in her position," Davis wrote.
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions logo Photo: ODPP Fiji
Lawyers representing Rice, who was appointed to the role in June 2019, said she would be filing a lawsuit against the state alleging unlawful dismissal, discrimination based on race, and defamation.
Rice has spent almost three decades as a criminal lawyer, as well as spent many years as a prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service in England and joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in Fiji from 1994 to 1997.
In a written statement to RNZ Pacific, the ODPP said: "Rice had minimal workload whereas the local prosecutors work was far much more than what Ms Rice was handling despite her high salary scale."
Her "minimal workload" was established following an audit of case files handled by the ODPP's prosecutors, according to the ODPP.
"She has not displayed any specialised prosecutorial skill that warrants any further need for her in the ODPP here in Fiji. We have the local prosecutorial skills here in Fiji, as we have always had before," Rabuku said via the statement.
He said Rice was offered a consultancy role "from time to time on any specialised prosecutorial field or training" and provided the option to resign with immediate effect or be dismissed, which her lawyers claim amounted to constructive dismissal.
John Rabuku Photo: Facebook / John Rabuku
Rabuku also offered the necessary payments be made out to her, including repatriation back to NZ or the United Kingdom.
Rice refused to resign and was sacked which her lawyers believed made it an unlawful dismissal.
Rabuku said the termination of her contract was according to the terms she signed and it was to allow local prosecutors to move up to the assistant DPP's position.
However, lawyers representing Rice did not agree and said Fiji's employment laws did not allow the employer to terminate a contract without a reason.
They said if Rice was underperforming, as Rabuku claimed, then it was his responsibility to inform her "which was never done".
He also did not have any meetings with her to discuss her workload which he was supposed to manage as the acting DPP, they said.
"She was never given any grounds that there was an audit done and that she was underperforming. In fact, [Rabuku] said her work was excellent and her results in court were very good.
"He has never given her the opportunity to take on more work, which is what you are required to do. If you have a problem with an employee, you have to give them a chance to remedy their situation. You can't just terminate them."
Siromi Turaga Photo: Fiji Govt
While Attorney-General Turaga did not respond to RNZ Pacific's request for comment on the matter, he told local newspaper Fiji Sun that he backed Rabuku's decision to terminate Rice.
"The acting DPP had the constitutional right to determine the terms and conditions of people who work under him," Turaga said according to the Fiji Sun's report.
"I saw no reason why we should employ these expatriate lawyers.," he was quoted by the newspaper.
He said there were good reasons for the termination.
However, laywers representing Rice believe Turaga's interpretation of the law is flawed.
They said employment law determines the terms and conditions together with the employment contract.
Rabuku and Turaga "both state after Rice was terminated without cause, that they had cause ... but never addressed the cause with her", the lawyers added.