Fiji Jurisdictions

Guide to Fiji ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

History
Fiji gained its independence from England in 1970. After a series of coups it was declared a republic in 1987.

Courts
High Courts Fiji has a high court that has three divisions:
 * The High Court has unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal proceedings under any law. Probate Jurisdiction is also a section in the High Court and is esponsible for the registration of Wills and the processing of FNPF Invalid Nomination & Valid Minor Nominee applications (retirement pensions).
 * The Court of Appeal is the intermediate appeal court. It has jurisdiction, to hear and determine appeals from the High Court, and has such other jurisdictions as conferred on it by law.
 * The Supreme Court has the power to review, vary, set aside, or affirm decisions or orders from the Court of Appeal. It has the original jurisdiction to hear and determine constitutional questions. Its decisions are binding on all the Courts of the State.

Magistrates Court The Magistrates Court is the Court of first instance and most civil and criminal cases are first heard in the Magistrate’s Court. Magistrate’s Courts handle Civil, Criminal, Traffic, Inquest and Juvenile cases. Administrative Divisions Fiji is divided administratively into four divisions, which are further subdivided into fourteen provinces; the self-governing island of Rotuma and its nearby islets lie outside any of the four divisions. Each division is headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the Fijian government. The provinces are then divided into districts and districts into villages.

The four divisions are basically agglomerations of provinces and have few administrative functions of their own, but serve to foster cooperation among the member provinces for providing services.

Provinces
Below is a list of provinces in Fiji.