BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LAWYERS for both the Government and the opposition party People’s Action Movement (PAM) presented their final arguments in the constituency boundaries case Friday (Aug. 21), bringing the almost two month long court proceedings to an end.
In the closing arguments, counsel for the Government Anthony Astaphan QC argued that there was no merit in PAM’s case, and stressed that it is a “sensible and rational position” for his side to take in light of all that had transpired.
“The PAM had taken a political decision not to participate [in the electoral reform process]. We tried to convince the judge that that was a political move by the PAM, and it should not be allowed now to come to court and seek to get any remedial relief,” he stated.
Meanwhile, senior counsel representing PAM, Mia Mottley, explained that her side’s case is premised on three things: the constitution of the Federation is preeminent, procedural fairness must be practiced and the rule of law must be followed.
She repeated that PAM sought to ensure that the process brought about to change boundaries, which had not been changed for 21 years, was done in a fair manner.
“The law does not only say that you must follow the provisions of the Constitution, but there’s also a requirement that everything must be done in accordance with fairness—that you should consult, ensure that nobody is disadvantaged, that there should be no bias. All of these things came out to the fore,” Mottley told members of the media following the court trial.
She concluded by stating that “very unfortunate actions that led to a breach of a court order” had compounded the case.
Lawyers for both sides thanked His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas for presiding over the case, and for allowing a 10-day period to flesh out arguments in writing.
The regional lawyers thanked the people of St. Kitts-Nevis for their hospitability and friendliness, as they acknowledged the case was held in a heightened political season. Justice Thomas also thanked the High Court staff and counsel for both sides for their thorough research.
Initially, PAM brought a civil suit against the Attorney-General, Constituency Boundaries Commission (CBC), Electoral Commission, Supervisor of Elections and the Governor-General on July1. The opposition party called for judicial review of a CBC report that had proposed changes to the Federation’s constituency boundaries.
A series of court applications and counter-applications followed, and eventually was overseen by three High Court judges, namely Justice Francis Belle, Justice Rita Joseph-Olivetti and Justice Errol Thomas.
Both sides will now have ten days in which to present written submissions to Justice Thomas, and a ruling in the matter could be heard by mid-September.
