Though scheduled for yesterday morning, the hearing of the appeal of the High Court’s ruling preventing APNU+AFC ministers Winston Felix and Keith Scott from holding seats in the National Assembly as non-elected Members of Parliament (MPs) had to be deferred after one of the three appellate judges who should have been hearing the case recused herself.
The matter had been fixed for hearing before acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory.
Instead of having the case called before the bench, however, the lawyers on both sides were informed of one of the judges’ decision to recuse herself from the matter.
In the circumstances, another judge will have to be appointed to complete the three-judge quota to hear the case. Once this is done, attorneys were told that they will be informed of the new date for the hearing of the appeal.
In 2015, PPP member Desmond Morian had initiated the legal challenge to Felix and Scott taking up seats as non-elected members and sought a declaration that they were not lawful members of the National Assembly and an order that they be prevented from sitting in the Assembly unless their names are extracted from the coalition’s candidates’ list.
Then acting Chief Justice Ian Chang had ruled in Morian’s favour and this decision was later appealed by government. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal granted an interim stay of execution, which allowed for the ministers to take up their seats.
That stay was granted on February 26th, 2016 by former acting Chancellor Carl Singh and will last until the appeal has been fully heard and determined.
Morian is being represented by attorney Anil Nandlall.
The action is filed against the Attorney General.
