The Magistrates’ Court will rule on Wednesday on FICAC’s application to amend the charges against former Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad.
Prasad is charged with failing to comply with statutory disclosure requirements and of providing false information in a statutory declaration.
The application was filed by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday, after the matter had already gone through its final pre-trial conference and was set for trial.
In court today, FICAC submitted that the proposed amendments concern the dates and subsections of the charges, and would not change their nature or interpretation.
The defence argued FICAC had nine months to amend the charges but only sought the changes at the trial stage.
While not opposing amendments in principle, the defence maintained that only minor changes, such as dates or punctuation, should be allowed at this stage.
It argued that changing the subsections would amount to a substantive amendment and could prejudice the defence.
The defence also submitted that FICAC should first establish that there is a defect in the charges and provide supporting evidence before seeking an amendment.
The court reiterated that only minor amendments are permissible at this stage.
A ruling will be delivered at 11am on Wednesday.
