Latest update March 21st, 2025 7:03 AM
Latest News
‘High Court cannot intervene in internal affairs of Parliament’ – Judge tells suspended MPs
Kaieteur News – The High Court on Monday refused an application to overturn the suspension of eight Opposition parliamentarians for their role in an unrest in the Chamber of the National Assembly in December 2021 over the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill.
In her ruling, Justice Damon Younge said the High Court could not intervene in the internal workings of the Parliament.
Justice Younge asserted that the Parliament must be able to conduct its affairs without interference from the Court. She explained that when it comes to the internal operations of the National Assembly, only that organ could exclusively control the management of its own internal affairs, not the judiciary.
Justice Damon Younge
According to the Judge, it was legally determined that matters of the Privilege Committees are only controlled by the National Assembly, and added that the Parliamentarians have taken an oath to be bound by the rules of the National Assembly.
She said the court would not inquire into the internal affairs of the National Assembly otherwise it would amount to a usurpation of the powers of the Parliament.
Following the decision, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall SC lobbied for the Court to impose a $2M total cost on the suspended MPs. He stressed that it would teach them to take proper consideration before bringing matters before the court to waste judicial time and resources.
However, attorney Selwyn Pieters who represented the MPs beseeched court for a more reasonable cost given that the Members of Parliament (MP) suffered financial loss by reason of their suspension.
However, taking the matters into consideration, Justice Younge ordered that House Speaker Manzoor Nadir, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs and the main respondent Attorney General Anil Nandlall be paid GY$350,000 in costs.
The suspended MPs are Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Ganesh Mahipaul, and Maureen Philadelphia.
On July 21, during the 48th Sitting of the National Assembly, the House officially approved the report of the Committee of Privileges, which recommended that the eight parliamentarians be suspended for their involvement in desecrating the Speaker’s Mace on December 29, 2021.
The disgraceful incident occurred during the debate on the Natural Resources Fund Bill. Chaos broke out at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) at Liliendaal, where the National Assembly was sitting, when the Opposition MPs attempted to prevent Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, from speaking.
During the commotion, MP Ferguson attempted to steal the Speaker’s Mace, and was joined by some of her colleagues.
Following the mayhem, a Motion tabled by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, was passed in the National Assembly in January 2022 for the eight elected officials to be referred to the Privileges Committee for their actions.
The Privileges Committee later presented a report that recommended that MPs Ferguson, Philadelphia and Jordan be suspended for six consecutive sittings for committing serious violations in removing the Parliamentary Mace from its rightful position.
The report also recommended that Sarabo-Halley be suspended for six consecutive sittings. It was recommended that Jones, Duncan, Singh-Lewis and Mahipaul be suspended from four consecutive sittings.
The suspended MPs later approached the court. In addition to the Attorney General, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, were named as defendants.
Justice Younge, had previously heard arguments from Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C., and APNU lawyer, Roysdale Forde, S.C., on the preliminary issue of jurisdiction.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”
Kaieteur News- The notion that “One Guyana” is a partisan slogan is pure poppycock. It is a desperate fiction... more
If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?
Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS, Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- In the latest... more
Weekend Cartoon
