Opposition MPs warned over failure to pay court costs after losing suspension challenge

Mar 13, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The eight Opposition members of parliament (MPs), who were suspended for their disruptive behaviour in parliament and the removal of the parliamentary mace in 2021, have been issued with letters demanding that they pay the monies owed to the State in the suspension case, within seven days from March 10, 2023.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Anil Nandlall S.C.

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, wrote to Opposition member and Attorney-at-Law, Roysdale Forde SC on March 10, 2023, for the eight MPs to make the payment.

The eight Opposition MPs, Chief Whip, Christopher Jones, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Ganesh Mahipaul, and Maureen Philadelphia were sanctioned for their chaotic and disruptive behavior during the passage of an amended Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill, in December 2021.

Following the incident, the House had officially approved a report of the Committee of Privileges, which recommended that the eight parliamentarians be suspended for their involvement in inter alia desecrating the Speaker’s Mace on December 29, 2021. The eight MPs had challenged the parliamentary decision in court but they lost and were ordered to pay the State cost instead.

In his letter issued last Friday, AG Nandlall emphasised that to date, no payment has been made by the MPs in breach of the order of the court in a ruling rendered by High Court Justice Damone Younge.

Failure to complete the payment of costs awarded in the case, the letter stated, “would result in enforcement of the aforesaid Order of Court without further notice.”

The MPs were mandated to pay $350,000 in costs to the state by February 6, according to the decision rendered by Justice Younge in the High Court.

The High Court had 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 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.

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.

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Anil Nandlall, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney-at-Law, Damone Younge., Roysdale, SC

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