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St. Kitts & Nevis – September 24, 2009 (WINN): The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal is asking parties involved in Contempt of Court Case against the St. Kitts and Nevis Attorney General, if they will be available for a hearing on October 8th in St. Vincent.
Government Counsel in the matter, Mr. Anthony Astaphan S.C., said Wednesday he hoped that Legal Counsel for the claimants would agree to the date so the matter could be dealt with as soon as possible.
“We are now waiting on the other side to consent and I am hoping that they will not prevaricate and withhold consent to delay the hearing,” Mr. Astaphan said in an interview with the St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Mr. Erasmus Williams.
“We are putting the challenge out to the lawyers for Mr. Richards, if you think your appeal is so…absolutely strong let us agree to have this matter heard in St. Vincent on the 8th of October to get an expeditious hearing from the Court,” the Senior Counsel said.
“Let’s stop playing politics with this and get these matters heard so we can go and have the General Election and let the people decide.”
But Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Shawn Richards, Deputy Political Leader of the People’s Action Movement one of the claimants in the matter said he could not yet say if his lawyers would be able to accept the offered court date.
“I would have to speak to my legal team in that particular matter and see whether or not they are available,” he told WINN FM in a telephone interview.
“We have to take into consideration that you have Mia Mottley who is a Member of Parliament in Barbados, and of course, she would have to look at her Parliamentary schedule and her other schedules in terms of her legal practice. You have Kamla Persad-Bissesar out of Trinidad, a next Parliamentarian, she again would have to take her schedule into consideration; and we also have a team of lawyers right here in the Federation who would have to look at their schedules.” Richards said.
He said Mr. Astaphan himself should be able to understand as he too had been in situations where he had scheduling conflicts.
In July, the High Court upheld an injunction filed by Mr. Richards and PAM Leader Lindsay Grant, that prohibited the use of a report from the Boundaries Commission, until a judicial review of the process used in its preparation was completed. The report was nonetheless tabled in Parliament, and the proclamation based on it was debated, passed and signed by the Governor General. That action led to the Attorney General, one of the respondents in the injunction, being found guilty of Contempt of Court.
Photo: Anthony Astaphan S.C.
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