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Public Records Act

LAWS OF FIJI

CHAPTER 108

PUBLIC RECORDS

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I-PRELIMINARY

SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Application.

PART II-ADMINISTRATION

4. Archives office.
5. Archivist.
6. Delegation of the Archivist's powers.

PART III-CUSTODY AND PRESERVATION OF ARCHIVES

7. Deposit of public records in the Archives office.
8. Deposit of public records of less than fifteen years of age.
9. Public records not in the Archives office.
10. Return of public records in Government office.
11. Public records to be surrendered on demand.
12. Public records not to be destroyed or disposed of without the authority of the Archivist.
13. Routine destruction of public records.
14. Access to public records in the Archives office.
15. Publication of public records.
16. Copyright.

PART IV-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

17. Archives office seal.
18. Certified copies.
19. Regulations.
20. Offences and penalties.

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PUBLIC RECORDS

Ordinance No. 7 of 1968,
Act No. 29 of 1971

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE BETTER PRESERVATION OF THE
PUBLIC RECORDS OF FIJI

[8th May, 1970]

PART I-PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Public Records Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

"Archives office" means the National Archives of Fiji established under this Act;

(Amended by 29 of 1971, s. 2.)

"Archivist" means the Archivist appointed under this Act;

"Government office" means any ministry, department, office, agency, or instrument of any kind of the legislative or executive or judicial government of Fiji; and includes any office or corporation or other body declared by the Minister to be a Government office for the purposes of this Act;

"public records" means all such documentary materials of any kind, nature or description which have been drawn up, made, received, acquired or used in the course of legislative, administrative or executive transactions or in proceedings in any court, together with all exhibits and other material evidences which form part of or are annexed to or are otherwise related to specific documents, which are or are required to be in the custody of any public officer or Government office or which may at the commencement of this Ordinance or thereafter be transferred to or acquired by the Archives office.

Application

3. Nothing in this Act or in any regulations made under it shall apply with respect to any public record which has been drawn up, received, acquired or used by any Government office if such record discloses any information which is required to be kept secret pursuant to the provisions of any Act.
(Section amended by 29 of 1971, s. 3.)

PART II-ADMINISTRATION

Archives office

4.-(1) There shall continue to be established an Archives office to be know .as "the National Archives of Fiji" wherein shall be stored for better preservation such of the public records of Fiji as are transferred thereto or acquired by the Archivist under the provisions of this Act.

(2) Subject to any general or special directions which may be given to him by the Minister, the Archivist may by contract or bequest or in any like manner acquire for the Archives office all such original records, manuscripts and other documentary materials, or copies or replicas thereof, other than public records, as he may deem necessary or desirable to secure and all such materials shall be deemed to be public records of Fiji for the purposes of this Act.
(Section amended by 29 of 1971, s. 4.)

Archivist

5. The Public Service Commission shall appoint an Archivist who shall, subject to any directions given to him by the Minister, be charged with the care, custody, control and administration of the public records in the Archives office and the public access thereto and with the performance of any other duties prescribed by this Act.
(Amended by 29 of 1971, s. 5.)

Delegation of the Archivist's powers

6.-(1) The Archivist may from time to time delegate in writing any of his powers under this Act, except the power of authorising the destruction or disposal of public records, to any person or class of persons.

(2) Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions attached by the Archivist, the person to whom any powers are delegated under this section may exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred on him directly by this section and not by a delegation:

Provided that no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power by the Archivist.

(3) Every person purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this section shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation.

(4) Every delegation under this section shall, until it is revoked, continue in force according to its tenor, notwithstanding the fact that the Archivist by whom it was made may have ceased to hold office, and shall continue to have effect as if made by his successor in office.

PART III-CUSTODY AND PRESERVATION OF ARCHIVES

Deposit of public records in the Archives office

7.-(1) All public records of the age of fifteen years or over (other than those which under any Act are required to be held in the custody of a specified person or Government office) which in the opinion of the Archivist are of sufficient value to warrant their preservation as-

(a) evidence of the organisation, functions and transactions of the Government office in which they were originally made or received; or

(b) evidence of public or private personal or property rights or civic rights; or

(c) containing historical or general information,

shall be transferred to the custody of the Archivist and be deposited in the Archives office.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) contained-

(a) where the Archivist is satisfied that the deposit in the Archives office of any particular public record of the age of fifteen years or over would unduly prejudice the effective administration of any Government office, he shall defer the deposit of that public record for such period as may be agreed upon between the Archivist and the administrative head of the Government office affected;

(b) where the administrative head of the Government office having the possession or control of any public record satisfies the Archivist that by reason of its secret or confidential nature it would not be in the public interest immediately to deposit that record in the Archives office, the Archivist shall from time to time defer the deposit of that public record for such period as may be agreed upon between that administrative head and the Archivist;

(c) where the Minister in charge of any Government office certifies that in his opinion any specified public record or specified class of public records in the custody or control of the Government office contains information the release of which may adversely affect the security of Fiji or relations between the Government of Fiji and the government of any other country, the deposit in the Archives office of that public record or of public records of that class shall be deferred for such period or shall be made subject to such conditions as to access or otherwise as that Minister from time to time directs;

(d) where the deposit of any public record in the Archives office is deferred as aforesaid, the Archivist may prescribe any conditions he thinks fit to ensure the safe preservation of any such record during the time they are kept in a Government office.

(3) Any public records deposited under the provisions of subsection (2) may be deposited unconditionally or, if the administrative head of the Government office making the deposit so requires, shall be deposited subject to such conditions as to access and otherwise as may be agreed upon from time to time by the Archivist and the administrative head of that office.

(4) Where the administrative head of any Government office and the Archivist are unable to agree as to whether or not the deposit of any public records in the Archives office should be deferred or as to the period for which that deposit should be deferred or as to the conditions as to access and otherwise on which any public records should be so deposited, that question shall be determined by the joint decision of the Minister and the Minister in charge of that Government office, and their decision shall be final.

Deposit of public records of less than fifteen years of age

8.-(1) The Archivist may allow the deposit in the Archives office of public records of less than fifteen years of age if he considers that they are of sufficient value for deposit.

(2) Any deposit of public records under the provisions of subsection (1) may be subject to any special conditions imposed by the administrative head of the Government office making the deposit.

Public records not in the Archives office

9.-(1) The Archivist shall be entitled from time to time to inspect any public records that are for the time being in the possession or under the control of any Government office and give such instructions as to their safe preservation and such advice as to their efficient and economical administration and management as he considers necessary.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise the Archivist to inspect the contents of any public records-

(a) which by any written law are forbidden to be communicated to him; or,

(b) which are secret or confidential, except with the consent of the administrative head of the Government office having the custody thereof.

Return of public records in Government office

10. Where the administrative head of the Government office by which any public record was deposited in the Archives, or the administrative head of the successor of that Government office, satisfies the Archivist that the public record is required for use in that Government office, the Archivist shall return such public record to the custody of that Government office for such period as may be agreed upon between the Archivist and the administrative head, and subject to such conditions as the Archivist may prescribe to ensure the safe custody and preservation of that public record during the time it is kept in that Government office.

Public records to be surrendered on demand

11. Where any public record is in the custody or possession of any person other than a public officer or other person authorised to have such custody or possession in his official capacity, that person shall, on demand in writing by the Archivist, deposit that public record in the Archives office or in such other government office as the Archivist may direct.

Public records not to be destroyed or disposed of
without the authority of the Archivist

12.-(1) No person shall destroy or otherwise dispose of, or authorise the destruction or other disposal of, any public record of any kind whatsoever that is in is possession or under his control, except with the consent of the Archivist given in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2) Before authorising the destruction of any public record or any class thereof, the Archivist may, if he thinks fit, consult with any person whom the Archivist considers qualified to advise him as to value thereof for permanent preservation.

Routine destruction of public records

13. The Archivist may authorise the immediate destruction, or the destruction after the expiration of such specified time as may be agreed upon between the Archivist and the administrative head of the Government office concerned, of any specified public records or classes of public records that-

(a) by reason of their number, kind or routine nature do not in his opinion possess any enduring value for preservation in the Archives office; and

(b) are not required for reference purposes in any Government office after action on them is completed, or after the expiration of such period of years from the date on which action on them is completed as may be agreed upon between the Archivist and the administrative head of the Government office concerned.

Access to public records in the Archives office

14.-(1) Except as may be otherwise provided in any written law, and subject to the conditions under which any records are deposited, all records deposited in the Archives office shall be available for public reference subject to the provisions of any regulations made under this Act:

Provided that-

(a) the Archivist may, for any good cause, withhold access to any specified public record or any specified class of public records in his custody subject to the right of the person so denied access to appeal to the Minister, whose decision thereon shall be final;

(b) any public record deposited in the Archives office by any court and containing any information relating to the trial or punishment of any particular person may be inspected only by a person authorised in writing by the Chief Justice or by any other person authorised by the Chief Justice in that behalf.

(2) Nothing in this section contained shall limit the powers of any competent court to order the production of any public record of Fiji.

(3) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section and subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), the Minister may at any time, by order in writing addressed to the Archivist, withhold access either generally or by any person or class of persons to any specified public record or to any specified class of public records in the custody of the Archivist.

(4) Any person may, with the consent of the Archivist, make or cause to be made at his own expense copies of or extracts from any public archives which are available for public reference under this section.

Publication of public records

15. On the recommendation of the Archivist, the Minister may authorise the publication of any public records deposited in the Archives office and available for public reference which he considers to be of sufficient interest to warrant their publication.

Copyright

16.-(1) Nothing in this Act shall derogate from any provision of the law relating to copyright in relation to anything contained in any public records deposited in the Archives office under the provisions of this Act.

(2) Where any person publishes any work containing any passage from any public record deposited in the Archives office, he shall in that publication acknowledge the source from which that passage is taken.

PART IV-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Archives office seal

17. The Archivist shall cause to be made a seal for the Archives office, with which all certified copies issuing out of the office shall be sealed.

Certified copies

18. Any copy of any public record of Fiji in the custody of the Archivist which is certified by the Archivist to be a true copy of such public record shall be received as evidence of the contents of such record in all courts of law within Fiji.

Regulations

19.-(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the Minister may, from time to time, make regulations for any purpose for which regulations are contemplated by this Act and all such other regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations-

(a) regulating the transfer of public records from any Government office to the Archives office or any record centre or other repository which may be established for the purposes of this Act;

(b) regulating the manner of destruction or other disposal of valueless public records;

(c) regulating the admission of the public to the Archives office and the use by the public of public records of Fiji deposited in the Archives office;

(d) providing for the custody and preservation of records deposited in the Archives office under the provisions of subsection (3) of section 4 and prescribing the fees (if any) to be charged for that custody and preservation.

(2) The Chief Justice may make rules of court with regard to matters referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) in cases where the public documents concerned relate to proceedings in any court.

Offences and penalties

20.-(1) Every person shall commit an offence against this Act who-

(a) wilfully or negligently damages any public records; or

(b) wilfully or negligently disposes of or destroys any public records otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or

(c) does any act in contravention of or fails to comply with any provision of this Act.

(2) Every person who commits an offence against this Act shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.

(3) The court by which any person is convicted of an offence against paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) may, in addition to any penalty imposed for the offence, direct that that person shall not be entitled to have access to the Archives office for such period as the court thinks fit.

Controlled by the Ministry of Information

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SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

CHAPTER 108

PUBLIC RECORDS
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SECTION 19-PUBLIC RECORDS (ACCESS) REGULATIONS

Regulations 14th April, 1970

Made by the Governor

Short title

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Public Records (Access) Regulations.

Records available for public inspection

2. Subject to the provisions of these Regulations and any other, written law, public records deposited in the Archives office-

(a) which have been in existence for a period of not less than 30 years; or

(b) the contents of which have at any time been published or otherwise wholly disclosed to the public or which are available in the form of either originals or copies in the Public Record Office in London,

shall be available for public inspection.

Open and closed records

3.-(1) Records which are available for public inspection under the provisions of regulation 2 are hereinafter referred to as open records and those public records which are not so available for public inspection are hereinafter referred to as closed records.

(2) The Archivist may, upon receiving special authority in that behalf from the Minister, permit any person to inspect closed records.

(3) Persons permitted to inspect closed records may be required to sign an undertaking in the form prescribed in the Schedule.

(4) Where open records are bound, sewn, stapled or otherwise attached to closed records so as thereby to form a bound volume, file or other such compilation, the whole of the records contained in such bound volume, file or compilation shall be deemed to be closed records.

Application to inspect records

4.-(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (4), any person wishing to inspect public records in the Archives office shall apply in writing to the Archivist staling the purpose for which he requires access and the general nature of the records which he wishes to inspect.

(2) Each application made under the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by a reference from the institution to which the applicant is attached, or, where the applicant is not so attached to any institution, from a prominent and responsible person resident in Fiji.

(3) Every application accompanied by the reference referred to in paragraph (2) shall be submitted by the Archivist to the Minister for his consideration and the decision of the Minister thereon shall be final.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the Archivist may, in his discretion and in accordance with general instructions given to him by the Minister, permit access to the public records without requiring the written application or the reference referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2).

Search room

5. Such public records as are, under the provisions of the Act and of these Regulations, permitted to be inspected shall be made available to the public in a search room in the Archives office.

Rules to be observed

6. All persons inspecting public records in the Archives office shall observe the following rules and any person failing to observe any of such rules may be denied further admission to the search room:-

(a) personal belongings such as bags, umbrellas and other items not reasonably required during the progress of the inspection shall be left at the entrance to the search room or in such other place as may be indicated by the officer in charge of the search room;

(b) within the search room all persons shall conduct themselves in an orderly and quiet manner;

(c) smoking, eating and drinking shall be prohibited in the search room;

(d) no document shall be written on, marked or damaged in any way;

(e) no ink, paste or any other substance which may damage documents may be introduced into the search room;

(f) only pencils or ball-point pens may be used for writing in the search room;

(g) no person shall rest the paper on which he is writing or his arm on any document belonging to the Archives office nor shall he turn any opened bound volume face downward on the table nor use any bulky object as a bookmark;

(h) any person wishing to make a tracing from any document shall use only such tracing sheet as may be supplied on request by the Archives office;

(i) no book or other document, the property of the Archives office, shall be removed from the search room without the knowledge and approval of the officer in charge thereof; and

(j) where files or collections of loose documents are produced for inspection, no person shall interfere with the existing sequence of the documents contained in such files or collections.

SCHEDULE
GOVERNMENT OF FIJI

UNDERTAKING GIVEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH (3) OF
REGULATION 3 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS (ACCESS) REGULATIONS

I agree, before I am granted access to closed records of the Government of Fiji in the Archives office to submit to the Minister for inspection, if required, any work which I intend to publish or otherwise make available to the public and for which I have used such records and I also agree to eliminate any matter which the Minister may consider inexpedient to publish or otherwise make available to the public.

It is understood that these conditions do not apply to any conclusions or analysis I may draw from or make of such records.

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Signature of Applicant Date

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Witness Date

SECTION 19-PUBLIC RECORDS (COURTS) RULES

Rules 24th March, 1970, 7th June, 1976

Made by the Chief Justice

Short title

1. These Rules may be cited as the Public Records (Courts) Rules.

Interpretation

2. In these Rules unless the context otherwise requires-

"Magistrate" includes the Chief Magistrate;

"register" includes any abstract or other book kept for the purpose of entering therein serially the details of causes, actions and matters.

When records to be transferred to Archives, Court of Appeal

3.-(1) Public documents, other than registers, relating to proceedings in the Fiji Court of Appeal shall, except where the Archivist has authorised their immediate destruction under the provisions of section 13 of the Act, be transferred from the registry of the said Court to the Archives office within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date on which the judgment of the court was delivered in the proceedings to which they relate or, if the appeal has been discontinued, from the date on which notice of discontinuance of the appeal was given.

(2) Registers of proceedings in the Fiji Court of Appeal shall be transferred to the Archives office within 6 months of the expiry of a period of 15 years after the last entry therein.

When records to be transferred to Archives, Supreme Court

4.-(1) Public documents, other than registers, relating to proceedings in the Supreme Court shall, except where the Archivist has authorised their immediate destruction under the provisions of section 13 of the Act, be removed from the registry of the said Court to the Archives office as follows:-

(a) in the case of appeals dealt with by the Supreme Court in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, within a period of 6 months from the expiry of 3 years from the date on which the judgment of the court was delivered or, if the appeal was discontinued, the date on which notice of discontinuance of the appeal was given;

(b) in the case of criminal causes dealt with by the Supreme Court in exercise of its original jurisdiction within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date on which the judgment of the court was given or, if the proceedings were discontinued, from the date on which they were discontinued;

(c) in the case of actions dealt with by the Supreme Court in exercise of its matrimonial causes jurisdiction within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date on which the decree became absolute or other final order was made:

Provided that where an order for maintenance has been made the documents shall be retained in the registry of the said Court and not transferred to the Archives office until the order has either lapsed or been revoked, annulled, quashed or set aside;

(d) in the case of actions dealt with by the Supreme Court in exercise of its probate jurisdiction, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of judgment or other final order;

(e) in the case of non-contentious matters dealt with by the Supreme Court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of the grant of probate or letters of administration or, if no grant was made, from the date on which the application was discontinued;

(f) in the case of bankruptcy matters dealt with by the Supreme Court in the exercise of its bankruptcy jurisdiction, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the death or discharge of the bankrupt or, if no order of adjudication was made, from the date of the order dismissing the petition;

(g) in the case of proceedings dealt with by the Supreme Court in the exercise of its admiralty jurisdiction, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of judgment or other final order;

(h) in the case of all other civil actions and matters dealt with by the Supreme Court within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years the date of judgment or other final order.

(2) Registers relating to proceedings in the Supreme Court shall be transferred to the Archives office within a period of 6 months of the expiry of 15 years from the date of the last entry therein.

When records to be transferred to Archives, Magistrates' Courts

5.-(1) Public documents and registers relating to proceedings in Magistrates' Courts shall, except where the Archivist has authorised their immediate destruction under the provisions of section 13 of the Act, be transferred from the offices of the said Magistrates' Courts to the Archives office as follows:-

(a) in respect of criminal cases within a period of 6 months after the expiry of years from the date of the judgment or final order:

Provided that where a fine has been imposed and remains unpaid or a committal warrant has been issued but has not been executed, the documents relating to that case shall for the time being remain in the office of the said Magistrates' Court and not be transferred to the Archives office;

(b) in the case of matrimonial cases within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of the decree nisi or other final order:

Provided that where an order for payment of maintenance has been made the documents shall remain in the court office and not be transferred to the Archives office until the order has either lapsed or been revoked, annulled, quashed or set aside;

(c) in the case of proceedings under the Maintenance and Affiliation Act, the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act or any Act repealing and replacing any of such Acts, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of judgment or other final order:

Provided that where an order for maintenance has been made the documents shall remain in the court office and not be transferred to the Archives office until the order has either lapsed or been revoked, annulled, quashed or set aside;

(Cap. 52. Cap. 54.)

(d) in the case of civil causes and matters, other than appeals from third class Magistrates and other tribunals, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 6 years from the date of judgment or other final order;

(e) in the case of appeals dealt with by a Magistrate's Court within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date on which the judgment was delivered or, if the appeal was discontinued, notice of discontinuance was given.

(Amended by Rules 7th June, 1976)

(2) Registers relating to proceedings in Magistrates' Courts shall be transferred to the Archives office as follows:-

(a) where they relate to criminal causes, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 3 years from the date of the latest entry made therein before completion;

(b) where they relate to civil actions and matters and civil appeals dealt with in those courts, within a period of 6 months after the expiry of 10 years from the date of the last entry therein;

(c) in the case of proceedings referred to in sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (1), within a period of 6 months of the expiry of 15 years after the date of the latest entry made therein before completion.

Inspection of records

6.-(1) Save by special direction of the Chief Justice, the public shall not be admitted to inspect public records relating to proceedings in any court except as provided for in these Rules and any other written law.

(2) Any person seeking admission to inspect public documents relating to proceedings in any court which have not yet been transferred to the Archives office shall make written application to do so-

(a) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in the Fiji Court of Appeal, to the Registrar of the Fiji Court of Appeal;

(b) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in the Supreme Court, to the Chief Registrar;

(c) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in any Magistrate's Court to the Chief Registrar or the Magistrate for the time being in charge of that court.

(3) Where the Registrar, Chief Registrar or Magistrate, as the case may be, is satisfied that any applicant has a proper interest in the document which he seeks to inspect, he may authorize him in writing to be admitted to inspect such document.

(4) Where authority has been given under this rule for any person to be admitted to inspect any public document relating to proceedings in any court the officer granting the authority shall, if the document has been transferred to the Archives office, obtain the record from the Archives office and shall retain it in his custody for such time as it is required for such inspection and shall thereafter return it forthwith to the Archives office.

(5) No person to whom authority has been given under this rule to be admitted to inspect any document relating to proceedings in any court shall be permitted to have access to the document except in the presence of the officer granting the authority or such other public officer as he shall nominate.

Inspection for research purposes

7.-(1) Where any person seeks admission for the purpose of academic research or study or for some similar purpose to inspect public documents relating to the proceedings in any court which have been transferred to the Archives office, he shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (4), apply in writing to the Archivist staling the purpose for which he requires access and the general nature of the records which he wishes to inspect.

(2) Every application made under the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by a reference from the institution to which the applicant is attached or, where the applicant is not attached to any institution, from a prominent and responsible person resident in Fiji.

(3) Every application accompanied by the reference referred to in paragraph (2) shall be submitted by the Archivist to the Chief Registrar for consideration by the Chief Justice and the decision of the Chief Justice thereon shall be final.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the Archivist may, in his discretion and in accordance with general instructions given to him by the Chief Registrar on the directions of the Chief Justice permit access to public documents relating to proceedings in any court without requiring the written application or the reference referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2).

(5) Where permission has been given under the provisions of this rule to inspect any public document relating to proceedings of any court the document shall be made available for inspection in a search room at the Archives office and the provisions of regulation 6 of the Public Records (Access) Regulations shall apply to such inspection.

Undertakings

8. Where any person is permitted under either of rules 6 or 7 to inspect any public document relating to proceedings in any court such permission may be made conditional on such person entering into a written undertaking in the form prescribed in the Second Schedule.

Destruction of records

9.-(1) Where the Archivist has authorized the immediate destruction of any public documents under the provisions of section 13 of the Act, the documents shall be destroyed by burning under the directions of:-

(a) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in the Fiji Court of Appeal, the Registrar of the Fiji Court of Appeal;

(b) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in the Supreme Court, the Chief Registrar;

(c) in the case of documents relating to proceedings in any Magistrate's Court, the Magistrate for the time being in charge of that court,

and under the supervision of any public officer nominated in writing by the Registrar, Chief Registrar or Magistrate, as the case may be.

(2) Upon completion of the destruction of any document the officer nominated to supervise its destruction shall make out and sign a certificate in the form prescribed in the First Schedule, the original of that certificate shall be sent to the Archives office and a carbon copy retained in the court concerned.

FIRST SCHEDULE
(Rule 9 (2))
_______

CERTIFICATE OF DESTRUCTION

I, (name) , (rank) of
having
been nominated to do so by
, hereby certify that I have this day destroyed by
burning the following public documents:-

Dated this day of , 19 .
(Signed)

SECOND SCHEDULE
_______

GOVERNMENT OF FIJI
_______

UNDERTAKING GIVEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULE 9 OF THE
PUBLIC RECORDS (COURTS) RULES

I undertake that, if I am granted access to records relating to the proceedings of any court in Fiji, I shall submit to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court for inspection, if required, any work which I intend to publish or otherwise make available to the public and for which I have used such records and I also undertake to eliminate from such work any part of the said record, or any account of the contents of the said record, wholly or in part, which the Chief Justice may consider it undesirable or inexpedient to publish or otherwise make available to the public.

It is agreed that these undertakings do not apply to any statistics which I may make from inspection of such records. It is also understood that these undertakings do not apply to any conclusions I may draw from or make of such records.

..................................... Date ...........................
Signature of Applicant

Witness...................... Date ............................

Controlled by the Ministry of Information

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