THE new constitution must ensure village by-laws are introduced in every iTaukei village in the country.
This was the view of many villagers who made submissions at the Vitogo Village hall in Lautoka yesterday.
Led by the Tui Vitogo Ratu Wiliame Ratudale Sovasova, the villagers submitted that village by-laws were needed to govern a village just as a nation needed a constitution.
Speaking in the iTaukei language, Ratu Wiliame proposed that a provision be made to guarantee that traditional laws of the iTaukei people would be protected.
Citing the Fijian Affairs Act, Ratu Wiliame says there should be a national law that ensures village by-laws are compulsory and must be followed by every person residing in a village.
The Radini vanua o Vitogo, Adi Litiana Sovasova, said village by-laws were important in a traditional Fijian community because they were used by their ancestors.
She said the laws of a traditional iTaukei village were a vital aspect of the iTaukei community that set them apart from other ethnic communities in the world.
Also making submission on the issue was Adi Paulini Delai who said the constitution must protect the interests of the iTaukei which included maintaining their by-laws.