Lawyers representing ousted Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase have called on the High Court to question what crisis was faced by the nation which warranted the removal of the SDL led government in December last year.

While making the submission in the case filed by Qarase and others against the Army Commander and the RFMF, QC Nye Perram highlighted that they could agree that the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo may have the power to remove the Prime Minister, if the country was faced with a national crisis.

He also agreed that the President had the power to appoint the interim government as long as the crisis continued. However he stresses that from the documented evidence of the events which led to the overthrow of the SDL government, no such crisis existed which would have warranted the execution of a coup.

Peram also accepted that President Ratu Josefa Iloilo was presented with a very difficult situation and noted it was a complex and unraveled situation and has international significance.

However, lawyers representing Commodore Bainimarama and others maintain that the President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo has reserved prerogative powers which he exercised on December 5th, 2006. They also concur with the findings of the Fiji Human Rights Commission and called on the judges not to bring before the courts the actions of the President which led to the removal of the government.


Reynolds said that the President has sovereign powers and there is nothing that would justify in getting the courts to pronounce how and why exactly the President did what he did on December 5th.

Counsels for Qarase and Bainimarama met late yesterday to try and agree on the list of witnesses to be called, the core and central issues in the case and agree on certain facts.

The case resumes at 10 this morning.