Gov’t prepares to mount challenge at CCJ

ATTORNEY General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, will be moving to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision to invalidate the appointment of the Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix and Minister of Labour, Keith Scott to sit in the National Assembly as technocrats, that is, as non-elected members.
Last Thursday, the Appellate Court upheld the 2016 decision of the High Court that the ministers could not have sat the National Assembly as non-elected members on the grounds that they were both elected as part of the coalition’s List of National Candidates, but did not form part of the list of 33 for the occupation of seats in the National Assembly.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the AG said his chamber is awaiting the written ruling from the Appellate Court, but gave the assurance that the decision will be challenged at the level of the CCJ. In handing down the ruling, the Court of Appeal said that while the AG had challenged the High Court’s decision on the substantive matter, and the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear the matter, his arguments focused primarily on the issue of jurisdiction. But the AG told the Guyana Chronicle that he submitted legal arguments supporting the appointment of the ministers, as well as arguments challenging the High Court to adjudicate the case.

In support of his case, the AG pointed to Article 103 (3) of the Constitution, which states: “Not more than four Ministers and two Parliamentary Secretaries shall be appointed by the President from among persons who are qualified to be elected as members of the National Assembly. Minister Williams maintained that Felix and Scott could not have formed part of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) list of 33 candidates elected to the National Assembly as a result of the 2015 General and Regional Elections. However, he said they were appointed to the National Assembly in accordance with Article 103 (3).

The AG also made reference to Article 105 of the Constitution, which states: “A Minister who was not an elected member of the Assembly at the time of his or her appointment shall (unless he or she becomes such a member) be a member of the Assembly by virtue of holding the Office of Minister, but shall not vote in the Assembly.”
Added to that, he maintained that the case should have been brought by way of an Elections Petition in the High Court, as stipulated by Article 163 and not by a Motion of Order.

The ruling has its origin in an objection by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on the appointments of Felix and Scott. The party, through a challenge filed by PPP member Desmond Morian, had contended that, “Articles 103 (3) and 105 of the constitution of Guyana and laws pronouncing on the eligibility of appointment of technocratic ministers, do not confer technocratic status on these persons already sworn in by President David Granger as ministers.”