The Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) has granted permission to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and all of the other applicants in the application for leave to appeal the recent decision on the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s court to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Speaking on the matter, lead counsel for the appellants Anthony Astaphan SC explained that they had argued that there was a right to appeal and alternatively because that appeal raised issued of great public importance concerning the election jurisdiction of the court and public policy.
Mervin John Baptiste, Antoine Defoe, and Edincot St. Valle filed complaints against all 15 elected candidates of the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) after the 2014 general election claiming they were involved in treating leading up to the election; which the DLP won 15-6 against the United Workers Party (UWP).
The complainants cited two concerts put on by the DLP, featuring international acts, Donnie McClurkin and Morgan Heritage, as acts of treating meant to corruptly influence the outcome of the election. The high court ruled that the magistrate did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter but in a 2-1 majority decision, the ECSC dismissed the high court’s decision and remitted the matter back to the high court saying it had jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Meantime, Astaphan has stated that Cara Shillingford who represents the applicants did not object to leave on the issues of great public importance.
“All the matters have been stayed and we have decided to try to get this matter heard expeditiously before the CCJ and to comply with all the orders imposed by the court of appeal,” Astaphan stated.