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Jan 12, 2013 News
Chief Justice Ian Chang yesterday ruled that Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee should be allowed to speak in the National Assembly since he was an elected member of the Assembly.
The Chief Justice however, made it clear that he could not rule on the parliament’s move to send the issue to the House’s committee of privileges. The committee has yet to meet on the matter. The judge ruled that among other aspects of the motion by the Attorney General, the decision by the House’s Privileges Committee should be rendered null and void.
The Opposition parties have made it clear that they do not intend to recognize Rohee in the National Assembly as the Minister of Home Affairs. Just last week when Opposition Member of Parliament, Winston Felix, questioned the Prime Minister in the Assembly about the new Security Strategy and the Prime Minister said that Rohee would have to answer, Felix refused to ask any question of the Home Affairs Minister.
The Chief Justice explained that the Supreme Court has the right to address whether the conduct of the House has violated the law or constitution.
He added that the no confidence motion against the Minister was faulty.
The main opposition parties had argued that Rohee was incompetent for the position of Home Affairs Minister, citing his lack of administrative skills on the basis of national security following the deaths of three Lindeners during protest action on July 19, 2012 in the mining town allegedly at the hands of rank of the security force.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, on November 27, 2012 moved to the High Court to dispute the legitimacy of the no confidence motion against Minister Rohee.
In doing so, the Minister also challenged Opposition Leader David Granger and the Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman who had placed a temporary bar on the Minister until the issue was resolved by the House’s Privileges committee.
The Chief Justice stated that on the matter of pure law, Rohee has the right to speak as an elected Member of the National Assembly. He noted that Rohee’s position as Minister of Home Affairs is irrelevant to the matter.
The Judge explained that Rohee’s right to speak in the National Assembly is consequent to him being a member of 65-body assembly, “not on the basis of his office as Minister of Home Affairs.”
“If Mr. Rohee’s name was on a successful list of candidates and his name was extracted from that list of candidates to hold a seat in the National Assembly on behalf of all members of that list but he was not assigned a Ministerial portfolio, his right or privilege to speak in the National Assembly would not have diminished one iota by his non-tenure of a ministerial portfolio.
“Therefore, the prohibition must necessarily relate to Mr. Rohee only as a member of the National Assembly and not as a Minister of Home Affairs,” said Chang in his 34-page ruling.
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