Robert Corbin’s injunction against ERC dismissed

Mar 27, 2014 News

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An injunction that was filed against the former Chairman and Commissioners of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) by the former leader of the People National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Robert Corbin has been discharged.
The issue came to an end, according to former ERC Chairman Juan Edghill now Jr. Finance Minister, during a press conference yesterday at his office within the Finance Ministry. Mr. Corbin’s lawyers advised that they were discontinuing the case.

“On Monday March 24, 2014, while the Budget was being read, the case was before Justice Brassington Reynolds for hearing and determination. Lawyers for Mr. Corbin indicated that they did not wish to continue with the case. The case was dismissed,” he said.
According to Edghill,  an ex parte application for an interim injunction was filed and obtained when the matter was heard before the Hon. Justice James Bovell-Drakes in chambers in June of 2011, “a mere six months before the November 2011 General and Regional Elections.”
His contention is that the PNC/R now incorporated into A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) did not want to have “a vibrant impartial, aggressive and functioning ERC in place during their election campaign” and as such they filed an injunction to stymie the work of the ERC.
This body, he explained, played an integral role in the 2006 General elections making it “not only ‘free and fair’ but it was ‘free from fear’.”
He outlined that before elections were to be held, in June 2011, “Mr. Corbin sought an injunction. Justice Bovell Drakes granted that injunction. This matter was fought and defended just mere days before the November 2011 elections.
“Justice Diana Insanally discharged that injunction. At that time, she stated that there was no basis for the injunction to be granted in the first place.”
Edghill was colourful in his description of the Corbin’s injunction citing it as being “Might is Right”.
“It was void of logic; it was baseless and had no place in law. When it was time to defend the matter, Mr. Corbin and his group declined.”
According to Edghill the Courts must not be used for politicking. “It’s an abuse of process and I could publicly declare when Mr. Corbin went to the Court in June 2011, it was an abuse of the Court to achieve a political end.”
Corbin had filed the injunction in 2011citing that the legitimacy of the ERC was in question since the mandate for the Chairman and the Commissioners had expired since 2007 pursuant to Article 212B ( 4), of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
Edghill, in response, said that the Parliament by resolution called upon the President to ensure and “I said so in August 2007. There is a resolution that the Parliament called upon the President to ensure that there is a continuation of the Ethnic Relations Commission.
“The President called all of the constituencies and all of the stakeholders who elected us in the first instance to consult with them to see, if they would agree that the Commissioner they had appointed then should continue to serve until it was reconstituted. All of the Commissioners all of the constituents agreed,” he explained.
ERC RECONSTITUTION
Edghill said that now that there is agreement for the reconstitution of the ERC and the increase in the number of the Commissioners from three to ten it is his opinion that “the ten constituencies through their consensual mechanism nominate for appointment, distinguished and dedicated Guyanese who will function effectively.”
He said that there must be an ERC in place, whether in time for Local Government Elections or National Elections. “It has a role to play. It is a constitutional body that can sanction politicians and any other individual or entity, including the media that promotes racism and ethnic insecurity in our country.”
He added that currently there is no commission, just the Secretariat of the ERC. “The secretariat could gather information, it could review all that’s happening in the media and it had to store everything so to speak…
“The staff would listen to the speeches of all politicians whether in rallies or any public spaces to see if it is inciting racism, they will then submit that to the commission to seek determination on a pronouncement. All the Secretariat functions are continuing of course I’m sure in a depleted way.”
Edghill said that currently if elements of racism are incited by a body the secretariat doesn’t have the teeth to do anything.
What is important, he said, is that the Representation of the People’s Act gives the ERC the teeth to sanction political parties and members of political parties and prevent them from even occupying elected positions if they are promoting or inciting racism.
“In a run up to Local Government Elections if that is to be held some time this year, because there is a lot of talk about that or National Elections, and a candidate is campaigning, you can win the vote but the ERC, not GECOM [Guyana Elections Commission] is the agency that can move against you based upon the Representation of the Peoples Act, to prevent you from properly being declared the winner of that election.
“We have to inform GECOM; they can count the votes but based upon the law the ERC is that body. So if they knew that that they were going to run a racist campaign, they got to keep the ERC out of the way and that is the issue here.”
Edghill expressed the hope to hear that the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the APNU will be loud in their support for a re­constituted ERC.

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