As you may be aware, the Attorney General filed an appeal against each ruling of the Chief Justice, in respect of the three cases recently determined in connection with the No-Confidence Motion passed against the Government on the 21st December 2018, in the National Assembly. Appeals were also filed by the lawyers appearing for Mr. Joseph Harmon; a cross appeal was filed on behalf of Christopher Ram and an appeal is also to be filed on behalf of Compton Reid.
All the lawyers involved in the aforementioned appeals were invited today to, and did attend, a meeting with the Registrar of the Court of Appeal to settle the respective “Records of Appeal”. This exercise was completed this morning. The responsibility of preparing the Records of Appeal, when settled, is that of the Appellant. They promised to have the Records of Appeal prepared and ready within seven days.
On Wednesday the 20th February 2019, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud (in Chambers), is scheduled to hear a number of Interlocutory Applications filed by the Attorney General, seeking Orders, whose cumulative effect are intended to stay the effects of the Chief Justice’s rulings. In a nutshell, they intend to suspend the effect of the No-Confidence Motion, and its constitutional consequences. In other words, the pith and substance of these Applications, is to suspend the provisions of the Constitution from taking effect, that is to say, that the Government is not defeated, that Cabinet including the President, is not required to resign and that elections are not required to be held within three months.
In my humble view, it would amount to a coup d’état of the Constitution, itself, were these Orders to be granted, since the Constitution is supreme and the Judiciary is subservient to it.
Therefore, rather than expend precious time and invaluable resources in pursuing these Applications, a far more constructive course is to endeavour to have the appeal themselves heard and determined with dispatch. It is this latter approach for which I intend to advocate.
This will pull the tree from its root, rather than trim the branches.