A Supreme Court conference will this afternoon decide whether or not there is a case to be heard before the Supreme Court against President Baldwin’s dissolution of the Vanuatu 10th legislature.
The urgent constitutional case was filed at the Supreme Court office by former Opposition members on Tuesday.
It challenges the legitimacy of the dissolution, taking into account the composition of the cabinet members that decided on the dissolution on 15 October 2015; the reliability of information used by the head of state as the reasons for dissolving parliament; and the infringement of the constitutional right of then MP elect, Kenneth Natapei.
Government rivals believe the Westminster democratic system was not fully exhausted and that the opportunity to fully explore it was prevented by the president’s decision to dissolve parliament.
In the court conference this afternoon, the applicants’ lawyers, Ronald Warsal and Edward Nalyal will argue their points in front of a Supreme Court judge in a bid to convince him that there is a case to be heard before the Supreme Court. On the other hand, the Attorney General will be standing up for the President to defuse the arguments put before the judge.
If, in the event that the judge is satisfied the evidence before him is relevant for further arguments, he will allow the application to be heard in the Supreme Court and schedule its date.
In the application, former opposition MPs are asking the supreme court assistance to order parliament to adhere to the former acting speaker’s calling of parliament’s second ordinary sitting on 14 December 2015.
Only two items were listed for debate in the summon by then acting speaker, Samsen Samson. They are the debate on the Appropriation bill for 2016 and the International Companies (Amendment) Act for 2015.
Following the issuant of the summons to MPs, opposition at the time said the agenda fell short of including the election of the new speaker following the imprisonment of the speaker, Marcelino Pipite, and the swearing in of MP elect, Kenneth Natapei. A day after this concern was raised, the head of state adhered to the council of ministers request and dissolved parliament.
Samson Samsen was then appointed minister of youth development and sports the following day.