THE Nisi Order of Prohibition which was directed to Commodore Gary Best on July 25, 2013 in favour of Captain Harold Fraser of the Guyana Defence Force has been made absolute.

The Captain had been asking the Chief of Staff to show cause why a Writ of Prohibition should not be issued to prohibit him from taking any further action on the Administrative Report initiated by Colonel Enock Gaskin, 2nd in F Battalion on July 13th, 2013, against the Applicant for allegedly seeking redress through the Civil Courts of Guyana.
And also without seeking redress through the established procedures in the Force, on the ground that the said decision is ultra vires, wholly in excess of jurisdiction, irrational,  unreasonable, unfair, unlawful,  unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect and contrary to the Defence Act, Chapter 15:01.
In his Affidavit in support of Motion, the applicant deposed that he was a Captain (ag.) of the GDF and that Gary Best was the Chief of Staff and the person in whom the command of the GDF was vested under the Defence Act, Chapter 15:01.
On March 5th, 2013, he along with Leslie Ramlall, Rono Joseph and Andre Cush, by way of Motion No. 11-CM of 2013, applied to the High Court and were granted, inter alia, an 0rder or Rule nisi of Certiorari directed to  Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best of the GDF, to show cause why his decision to withhold the award of a one-month incentive bonus awarded to members of the Joint Services by His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar,  on December 19th, 2012 should not be quashed.
Orders nisi were made in favour of the applicants but were discharged on June 5th, 2013. On March 13th, 2013, by way  of letters dated March 13th, 2013 addressed individually to each of them, they were relieved of their appointments until the hearing and determination of the said Civil Action No. 11 CM of 2013 allegedly on  grounds, inter alia, of the serious nature of the matter and implications for the avoidance of any conflict of interest which might arise.
But on April 3rd, 2013, Lesley Marshall and Andre Cush filed a Notice of Motion No.  23 CM of 2013 in which they sought to quash the decision made on March 13th, 2013 to relieve them of their appointments within the GDF.
But after dealing with several aspects in his 17-page decision the acting Chief Justice said: “Having regard to what has been said above, the court holds that the administrative directive issued by the Chief of Staff was ultra vires and unlawful and could not have been lawfully used as an administrative measure for removal of the applicant as an officer of the Force from his office. The Order or Rule Nisi of Prohibition made on July 25th, 2013 is accordingly made absolute. The court so orders.”
There will be costs to the applicant in the sum of $40,000.