High Court Judge Damone Younge has ruled that the delay on the part of President Irfaan Ali between August 2020 and April 2022 to consult with the Leader of the Opposition in appointing a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice does not amount to dereliction of duty or a breach of the Constitution.
She said this specifically against the background of there initially being no Opposition Leader with whom the President could have consulted.
Moreover, the Judge referenced the evidence before the Court, stating that even after Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton had been appointed, he himself contributed to a delay in the process as he refused to consult with the President, with his stance that he did not regard the presidency to have been legitimate.
Justice Younge was firm in pointing out, however, that going forward, both Ali and Norton are to act with “all convenient speed” in ensuring engagement and compliance with Article 127 (1) of the Constitution to ensure that the substantive appointments are made.
Now that the action brought by the APNU+AFC coalition has come to an end, she ordered swift compliance with the provision which she says places a mandatory duty on the President to consult in order for the substantive appointments to be made.
The contention of the APNU+AFC had been that President Ali was in “gross dereliction and abdication of the duty” and had no “lawful excuse” for not consulting with Norton, on the substantive appointments of a Chancellor and Chief Justice.
The coalition wanted the Court to declare that Ali had in fact failed to consult with Norton for substantive officer holders for the top two judicial posts.
