The Consumer Council of Fiji has received three complaints regarding services provided by Justice’s of Peace.
Council’s Senior Manager Corporate, Bindula Devi says in the first case, a Justice of Peace advised a complainant to pay $5 for the service, in the second case a JP was not responding to calls and in another case, a JP had made a promise to a complainant but could not deliver.
Devi says Justice’s of Peace provide a service that is mostly accessed by those who cannot afford lawyers and their related fees and in that respect, JPs are not supposed to charge fees nor do they have the legal right to collect fees or charges for their services under the Magistrates’ Courts Act.
She says in the past few years, based on the complaints the Council has received, members of the public had to wait long hours to be served by the JP or the JP turns people away because some JPs do not have time to serve them.
Devi says that it is the duty of a JP to make himself or herself readily available at reasonable hours to the public for performance of their duties.
She says the Council contacted the relevant JP who took money and has warned of this unethical behaviour.
Devi says the Ministry of Justice has also been notified of the complaint.
