The Fiji police force has been accused of illegally confiscating printed copies of the country's draft constitution and setting some of them on fire.

The Constitution Commission, which was tasked with drafting a new constitution to return the country to democracy, says all 600 copies were seized from the printer last Saturday.

Commission chairman Professor Yash Ghai.says he was verbally abused when he went to the printers and tried to tell police their actions were illegal.

Professor Ghai says some copies of the draft document were shredded before being soaked in kerosene and burned in front of him.

"Of course I was extremely upset," Professor Ghai told Radio Australia.

"I thought that this was some kind of a symbolic act on the part of whoever gave the orders ... to tell me that this is how we will treat your work."

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The remaining copies were reportedly taken by police and have not been seen since.

The government is yet to say who ordered the police to seize the documents.

Professor Ghai says the police action shows disrespect for the citizens of Fiji.

"I felt extremely sorry not for myself but for the people of Fiji if this indeed was an order from the government," he said.

"It shows such contempt for our work and in turn contempt for the people who had come out in their thousands and thousands to give us their views."

The government says the draft constitution is with the president, who will hand it to the chairman of the Constituent Assembly in the New Year.