PICTURED Attorney General Dale Marshall entering the first sitting session of Parliament on 8 February 2022.
The Mia Mottley administration has delayed all business in the Senate pending a decision from the High Court on whether the Upper Chamber may sit with three vacancies still to be filled.
Attorney General Dale Marshall on Monday declared that to continue operating as normal under the circumstances, would “cast a pall” over the work of the hallowed institution.
He said although the Government is confident that the business of the Senate could be legally conducted, the unresolved court matter could place some independent senators in an uncomfortable position.
“We have decided that at least until the case is heard, to have the Senate continue to meet would first of all put some senators in an uncomfortable position, because lacking the certainty of a decision, some senators might have their own personal discomforts about participating,” Marshall told Barbados TODAY.
“Secondly, the work of the Senate is of extreme importance. It is very significant and it would be unwise to proceed and to pass legislation in circumstances where there is a matter challenging the validity, that would cast a pall over the work of that very August body.
“So on the assumption that we will be able to get this case done quickly, we have taken a decision to delay,” the AG added.
Since the first joint sitting of the two houses on February 4, the Senate has been adjourned sine die, that is, with no fixed date for resumption.
According to the AG, this is customary after the President’s address because immediately after Parliament is prorogued or an election is staged, there are no matters before the Senate for debate.
“We haven’t adjourned it sine die because of the case, but we have decided not to summon the Senate at this time on the basis that the case is heard quickly,” Marshall reiterated.
He said the parties would meet on Friday for a case management conference to discuss a range of matters including timelines.
“I am not going to anticipate what that timeline will be,” said Marshall, regarding the next Sitting of the Upper Chamber.
He maintained that the decision to delay business in the Senate does not extend to appeals that could be heard at the local Court of Appeal or the regional Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“Right now, we are thinking no further ahead than what we are dealing with. We are dealing with an issue that is before the High Court and as I said, we don’t want to have the Senate operating where perhaps one or more senators is doubtful as to the legitimacy of the Senate.
“Certainly on the government’s side we are comfortable, but I still have to take into account that there are independent senators who may have concerns and so to force them into a situation like that would certainly not be consistent with the high standard that that body is called to engage in,” stressed the AG.
President Dame Sandra Mason, who delivered the first President’s Speech after the January 19th general election and since Barbados became a republic on November 30th, has been challenged that she is acting unlawfully by allowing the Senate to meet whilst not fully constituted.
Despite protests from the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Prime Minister Mia Mottley started the process of amending the Constitution to allow an opposition party to nominate two senators when a party fails to capture any seats at the polls.
However, on February 9, former Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, represented by Queen’s Counsel Garth Patterson and Michelle Russell, challenged the legal authority for the Senate to convene with only 18 of the 21 senators set out in the constitution, appointed.
In addition to the two vacant opposition seats, PM Mottley’s pick for 18-year-old, Khaleel Kothdiwala to take the final seat is dependent on the disputed constitutional amendment that would make it legal.
When the matter was heard in court on February 11, Patterson said it was necessary to know whether sessions of Parliament would be suspended until a final decision was made.
But his legal team did not file for an injunction which could have forced the suspension of Parliament if the sitting Judge agreed.
Nevertheless, Madam Justice Cicely Chase said she may consider such an application on February 25 if no agreement is reached.
ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN BARBADOS TODAY.
