A recent judgment of the High Court of Fiji has discussed and clarified the operation and legal effect of defect liability clauses in construction contracts.
This Judgment adds to Fiji's jurisprudence for construction law and emphasizes the importance of construction law contracts particularly when things don't go to plan.
We provide a short update in relation to important legal points that have arisen from the High Court's Judgment. The Judgement was also reported in Fiji's national press here
On Christmas Eve, 2018, the Fiji Government Gazette published a notice of commencement for the Workmen’s Compensation (Repeal) Act 2018, along with an amendment to the Schedule for the Accident Compensation Act adding accidents arising out of and in the course of employment and accidents occurring on school premises or during school events to those covered by the Accident Compensation Act.
In July 2018 we provided an update on the Workmen's Compensation (Repeal) Act which can be found here - this update explained how it would work but it is important for employers and schools to understand the legal implications of the new Act and Regulations.
In this commercial law update we provide a brief update on the effect of the new law and regulations.
Parliament has recently passed the Workmen’s Compensation (Repeal) Act 2018 (Act No 30 of 2018). As indicated by its name, it repeals the original Workmen’s Compensation Act 1964 and replaces it with a new regime from 1 January 2019.
Although the date of commencement of the Act is yet to be gazetted (so it is not in force at the date of writing this commercial law update), the effect of the Act is likely to mean that from 1 January 2019 Workmen’s Compensation claims must be brought before and handled by the Accident Compensation Commission (“ACC”) established pursuant to the Accident Compensation Act 2017.
In this commercial law update we briefly consider what this will mean for employees and employers in relation to workplace accidents.
After many years and a large volume of legal proceedings over personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from road accidents, Fiji has decided not just to update its legislation but to completely overhaul its system, by mandating a ‘no fault’ system of compensation in place of motor vehicle third party insurance.
The Legislation that came into force on 1 January 2018 is – The Accident Compensation Act 2017 (the “Act”) and related regulations
In this commercial law update we analyse how the new legal framework of 'no fault' compensation is intended to work and highlight some grey areas.