ST.KITTS: HIGH COURT STRIKES DOWN 2015 SKN LABOUR GOV’T BOUNDARIES REPORT AS NULL, VOID AND OF NO EFFECT
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(Wednesday March 31st, 2021) High Court Judge Justice Trevor Ward QC STRUCK DOWN the St.Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Gov’t Boundaries Report of 2015. The learned High Court Justice found that it was an “irresistible” conclusion based on all the evidence, that there was a deliberate unlawful plan by the labour executive branch to rush the boundaries report through parliament and then dissolve parliament and have the proclamation published before the claimants could access the court. In so doing, the labour government under Dr. Denzil Douglas breached the constitution and committed a clear violation of the right of access to justice. The court also found that the constituency boundaries commission chaired by Peter Jenkins irrationally failed to take into account relevant data, in particular the enumeration district data which it had available to it and refused to use, despite the urging of commission member Vincent Byron, who advocated for the use of E.D data . Justice Ward also found that the constituency boundaries commission unlawfully relied on other factors in making its decision, such as the factor of preventing the splitting of communities which is not outlined as a required factor in the constitution. It should be noted that in coming to his decision, the Judge had ample evidence provided by former A.G. Jason Hamilton and Peter Jenkins, both of whom were cross examined at length, among others. The Judge found that Jason Hamilton’s evidence that he had no idea an emergency sitting of Parliament was being convened was “unbelievable”The attorneys who pursued the case for the Claimants were Mr Douglas Mendes SC, Mr Christopher Hamel-Smith SC and Ms Talibah Byron.
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