Felix Chaudhary 
Despite the construction of new courts and increase in Legal Aid Commission (LAC) offices across the country, the number of unsentenced persons detained in prisons has increased.
This, according to a section in the Fiji National Development Plan 2025-2029 report titled Rule of Law and Justice.
The report outlined that the construction of new courts in Nasinu and Ba strengthened citizens’ access to the legal system.
It also highlighted the expansion of LAC offices, which served as a mechanism to improve access to justice for people who could not afford private legal representation.
Despite these efforts, the report said the proportion of unsentenced detainees in the overall prison population has increased, indicating bottlenecks in bringing cases to court and a growing number of remand detainees awaiting judgement.
The LAC has expanded its services in all Magistrates Court locations, throughout the country, from 18 offices in 2017 to 27 offices in 2023.
Additionally, the LAC received a total of 17,477 applications in 2022, compared to 13,725 in 2021; an increase of 21.4%.
The Commission in 2023 is looking at 14,396 active cases.
