BASSETERRE St. Kitts, April 6th 2013 - The majority of Elected Representatives in the National Assembly of St Kitts and Nevis today presented a case for an Interim Injunction against the Government of Prime Minister the Right Honourable Dr Denzil Douglas.
Renowned Senior Counsel from Trinidad and Tobago, constitutional law expert Mr Douglas Mendes laid out the case before Resident Judge the Honourable Mr Justice Errol Thomas in Chambers this afternoon.
The majority of Elected Representatives consist of the Honourable Mark Brantley, Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Premier of the Nevis Island Administration; the Honourable Sam Condor, former Deputy Prime Minister in the Denzil Douglas Government; the Honourable Shawn Richards, Leader of the People’s Action Movement; the Honourable Vance Amory, Premier of the Nevis Island Administration; the Honourable Dr Timothy Harris, former Senior Minister in the Denzil Douglas Government; and the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, Deputy Leader of the People’s Action Movement.
The six (6) Parliamentarians represent a clear majority of the eleven (11) Elected Representatives in the National Assembly.
Earlier this year, all of these Parliamentarians together signed a letter addressed to his Excellency the Governor General, advising him of their intention to support the Motion of No Confidence in the Prime Minister delivered to the Clerk of the National Assembly since the 11th day of December, 2012.
The majority of Elected Representatives are seeking various Declarations from the High Court of Justice. The thrust of the case is that the Denzil Douglas Government is in essence a Government hanging by a thread, a potentially illegitimate Administration, and that it can have no mandate whatsoever to govern the affairs of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, while the Motion of No Confidence in the Prime Minister remains off the agenda of the National Assembly.
The Defendants in the case are Honourable Curtis Martin, Speaker of the National Assembly; Right Honourable Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minster, Honourable Dr Asim Martin, Deputy Prime Minister; Honourable Patrice Nisbett; Honourable Marcella Liburd; Honourable Glen Phillip ; Honourable Richard Skerritt; Honourable Nigel Carty; and Honourable Jason Hamilton, Attorney General of St Christopher and Nevis.
The Defence Team which is led by Queen’s Counsel Dr Henry Browne included Attorneys at Law Sylvester Anthony and Angelina Sookoo and Crown Counsel Tashna Powell Williams.
The six (6) Claimants condemn the conduct of the Denzil Douglas Government as a transparent effort to remain in office against the will of the people of St Kitts and Nevis.
Senior Counsel Mendes said he had no problem with the request by the Defence Team for time to consider the reply to his submissions in favour of an Interim Injunction. Mr Mendes said, however, that it is customary when asking for time in such circumstances to give an undertaking to preserve the status quo in lieu of an injunction. The Defence Team said they could not make this commitment. This surprising departure from the norm was expressed despite the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Honourable Dr Asim Martin; Attorney General Honourable Jason Hamilton; Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Honourable Patrice Nisbett and Honourable Nigel Carty who were available to give these instructions.
The learned judge fixed Wednesday 10th April for Defence Counsel to reply. However, lead counsel for both sides being inconvenienced by that date, the learned judge ordered the matter to resume on Thursday 18th April.
The Application for an Interim Injunction is not seeking to restrain the introduction of the bill for the 2013 Budget. The injunction is aimed at the inclusion in the Order Paper of the National Assembly of any other matter. However, the heart of the case is the Declarations being sought from the High Court to deem any governance by the Denzil Douglas Administration illegitimate as long as the Motion of No Confidence in the Prime Minister is not placed on the agenda of the National Assembly for debate and a vote by Elected Representatives.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
