Anthony Gates

Who is Anthony Gates?

Anthony Harold Cumberland Thomas Gates is Chief Justice of Fiji. Justice Gates is best known for his decision in Chandrika Prasad v. Att-Gen of Fiji [2000] 2 FLR 89; Prasad v. Republic of Fiji & Another [2001] 1 LRC 665; [2001] NZAR 21 in which he held that the Constitution of Fiji had not been abrogated by the military intervention in 2000, and that the Constitution continued to be the law of the land. His decision was upheld by Fiji’s Court of Appeal, in February 2001. However, the decision which should have led to the restoration of the Parliament suspended by the coup of 2000, was not obeyed by the government of the day, the Government instead choosing to call for elections in 2001.

Justice Gates is also well known for his decisions on enforcing freedoms from inhumane treatment for prison inmates and for the treason-related hearings of persons alleged to have been involved in the political events in Fiji of 2000.