Submissions on Bills No. 6 and 7 of 2018

The Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights (‘Committee’) has been tasked with scrutinizing and making necessary amendments to the Registration of Sex Offenders Bill (Bill No. 6 of 2018) and Online Safety Bill (Bill No. 7 of 2018), which were referred to the Committee by Parliament pursuant to Standing Orders 51 and 110(1)(a).

The Registration of Sex Offenders Bill (Bill No. 6 of 2018) provides for the establishment of a register of sex offenders and the registration and reporting obligations of sex offenders.

The Bill aims to help monitor sex offenders in the community and reduce sexual offences.

Sex offenders will be required to report relevant personal information about them for inclusion in the register. Sex offenders are also required to make periodic reports to keep their personal information in the register up-to-date.

The Online Safety Bill (Bill No. 7 of 2018) seeks to promote online safety to cater to the increase of reports on harmful online behaviours such as cyberbullying, cyber stalking, Internet trolling and exposure to offensive or harmful content, particularly in respect of children.

The Bill seeks to increase awareness and education on responsible online behaviour and the use of personal information. It also provides an avenue whereby individuals, parents, legal guardians or representatives of such individuals can take to have their concerns dealt with.

Furthermore it creates new offences to deter irresponsible and harmful online behaviour.

The Committee invites members of the public and key stakeholders wishing to express their views on the Bills to lodge written submissions through email addresses ira.komaisavai@parliament.gov.fj or jackson.cakacaka@parliament.gov.fj                       

For more information on the Bills, please click here – http://www.parliament.gov.fj/bills/ and the advertisement on – https://goo.gl/4pctzf

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