PORT OF SPAIN – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will meet on Friday for a case management conference regarding the appeals filed by Guyana’s Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo against the ruling of the Court of Appeal that invalidate a motion of no confidence which he had successfully moved in the National Assembly on December 21 last year.
The CCJ, which is Guyana’s highest court, said that the conference, which will also deal with the appeal filed by attorney Christopher Ram against the Attorney general Basil Williams, the Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Jagdeo on the same issue, will be streamed live and set for 11.00 am (local time).It will be broadcast on the CCJ’s website, ccj.org.
The conference will be used to check documents as well as get agreements from all the parties and then set a date for hearing of the appeal.
The Opposition Leader through his attorneys filed the appeal on Tuesday asking the regional court to throw out last Friday’s ruling l and restore the validity of the no confidence motion against the coalition government.
In the application, Jagdeo wants the CCJ to issue an order setting aside or reversing the ruling by the Court of Appeal, as well as ruling that the December 21 no-confidence motion was validly passed by a majority of all elected members of the National Assembly.
The Opposition Leader also wants the Court to declare that 33 votes constitute a majority within the meaning of the Constitution when it comes to the no-confidence motion and not 34.
The three member Court of Appeal in a split decision, said that the motion had to be passed by 34 of the 65 members of the National Assembly in order to have been valid.
Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards and Justice Dawn Gregory ruled that the threshold required for a no-confidence motion was 34 votes, while Justice Rishi Persaud provided a dissenting ruling.
Attorneys, Kamal Ramkarran and Devindra Kissoon are asking the CCJ on behalf of Ram to hear the application urgently and give a ruling within seven days as is necessary in order to prevent the “violation of the Constitution” and “the threat to democracy and adherence to the rule of law” that follow from that violation.
Ram argues that the Court of Appeal erred in its ruling that 34 votes were needed to pass the motion, as against the 33 that were obtained in the 65 member National Assembly.
In addition to asking the CCJ to either reverse or set aside the ruling, the attorneys are also asking on behalf of their client that the CCJ, Guyana’s highest court, among other things, validate the December 21st passage of the motion by the National Assembly and to order President David Granger and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to ensure that elections are held no later than April 29 this year.
Ram contends that the Court of Appeal erred in its ruling that 34 votes were needed to pass the motion, as against the 33 that were obtained in the National Assembly.
Attorney General Basil Williams Tuesday said he remains confident that the coalition government would be victorious when the CCJ hears the matter. (CMC)
