Urgent matters will be heard – CCJ
Despite proceeding on its two-month vacation in August, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has disclosed that matters considered urgent will be heard by the court.
CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders
“Please be advised that term 3 for the CCJ closes on 31 July 2020,” the Court stated on its Facebook page yesterday. “Until the following term resumes on 5 October 2020, our e-Filing system remains open and any matter considered urgent by the Court will be heard.”
The updated announcement came yesterday. Kaieteur News had reported in our Sunday edition on the closure against the backdrop of potential litigation in the latest round of Guyana’s election drama.
The CCJ had recently played a critical part in Guyana’s election saga after it made a historical ruling in the Irfaan Ali vs. Eslyn David’s election recount case. The CCJ’s ruling followed after the Appeal Court agreed with the position of the applicant David, in that “more votes cast” should be interpreted as “more valid votes” in Article 177 (2) of Guyana’s constitution – an article which speaks to the election of a President. The Appeal Court had also ruled that this interpretation should form the basis of the elections report to be submitted by Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. This report had invalidated some 115,000 voters.
Dissatisfied with the Appeal Court’s ruling, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) sought an appeal with the CCJ. After hearing submissions from multiple parties, the CCJ unanimously ruled that the majority decision handed down by the Court of Appeal was made without jurisdiction and should therefore be set aside along with Lowenfield’s report. The judgment was wrought by a five-member panel of judges inclusive of the Court’s President Justice Adrian Saunders, Justice Jacob Wit, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Justice Peter Jamadar and Justice Denys Barrow.
The CCJ vacation is set to begin just days after Guyana’s Court of Appeal (CoA) is expected to render a ruling in the Misenga Jones Appeal, the latest elections-related litigation, on Thursday, July 30.
https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...tters-will-be-heard/
