Crucial hearing on Fiji government

The interim government has run Fiji since July

International judges in Fiji have begun a crucial hearing in the court of appeal over the legitimacy of the army-appointed interim government.

The interim government - which has come under fire for curtailing minority rights - was being defended by a British lawyer, who argued it should remain in order to protect stability.

Saying they represented indigenous people, rebels stormed parliament last May

"It is a regime which is doing its best to provide a new solution for providing peace and justice," said Nicholas Blake QC, a member of Matrix Chambers in London.

The judges, from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, then adjourned the case after a day of tight security measures around the court.

Some human rights activists have criticised Matrix Chambers - a firm whose partners include Cherie Booth, wife of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair - for taking on the case.

Described by Amnesty International as "a very important human rights case", the hearing will decide whether the multi-ethnic constitution, scrapped by the military, can be abrogated.

Multi-ethnic constitution

The interim government is appealing against an earlier ruling by the Fijian High Court that the 1997 Constitution remains intact, and the President should reconvene parliament and appoint a prime minister to form a new administration.

The case had been brought to the High Court by an ethnic Indian farmer, Chandrika Prasad, whose property had repeated been attacked last year by indigenous mobs.

[Chandrika Prasad] was attacked, he had his home looted... He relied on the constitution to protect his human rights

Amnesty spokesman

The High Court had ruled that suspending the previous constitution, which upheld minority rights, was illegal.

In the coup last May, nationalist rebels stormed parliament and held the ethnic Indian prime minister hostage.

After striking a deal with rebels, the military set up the interim government, heeding to rebel demands to scrap the multi-ethnic constitution and bar ethnic Indians from power.

The new government is made up almost entirely of ethnic Fijian politicians.

Safety of Indians

In Britain, the involvement of Matrix Chambers - which described itself as one of the top human rights practices when it was formed last year - has attracted the attention of local media.

Ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was ousted in the uprising

Some reports estimated that the firm's fee was £100,000.

Amnesty International said it was concerned for the safety of Mr Prasad, who has been lauded by human rights groups, and other ethnic Indians.

"This man lost his home, his profession. He was attacked, he had his home looted... He relied on the constitution to protect his human rights," Heinz Schurmann-Zeggel, researcher for Australia and South Pacific region.

"[His] courage is further visible in that he has received a number of threats in recent week."

There are fears that a ruling against the interim government could spark racial and political violence.

All police leave has been cancelled during the five-day hearing and the public has been refused entry to the court, which is in the former parliament building.