{"id":110502,"date":"2014-01-14T17:29:27","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T21:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=110502"},"modified":"2014-01-15T22:43:14","modified_gmt":"2014-01-16T02:43:14","slug":"government-wins-appeal-presidential-court-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/news\/government-wins-appeal-presidential-court-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Government wins appeal in former president’s election matter (with judgement)"},"content":{"rendered":"\"williams\"The Roosevelt Skerrit-led administration won its appeal today in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), in the case brought by Dominica\u2019s leader of the opposition Hector John, which sought to challenge the election of Eluid Williams as President of Dominica on the grounds that both his nomination and election were \u201cunconstitutional, null, void and of no lawful effect\u201d.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe claim was first filed in 2012 by John against Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Attorney-General Levi Peter and Speaker of the House of Assembly Alix Boyd Knights.\u00a0When their attorneys applied for the matter to be struck out, the High Court judge dismissed that application and ordered that the matter should be tried. Then in November of last year, the justices of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal reserved judgement in the case.\r\n\r\nToday, however, the ECSC decided that the government had won its case. Chief Justice Janice M Pereira said in her ruling that \u201cIt is no part of the court\u2019s function or responsibility to meddle in parliamentary affairs particularly when the Constitution clearly precludes it from so doing.\u201d\r\n\r\nShe further stated that the office of president is one which should be held in the highest regard and subjected to the highest form of integrity. \u201cTo allow the court to meddle into the affairs of the election process of the president is in my view an affront to the dignity of the high office of president\u2026\u201d\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan told Kairi FM radio that in today\u2019s judgment the government feel vindicated by the decision. \u201cEvery time that the UWP makes a political camp on legal issues they have lost, even in relation to the elections…\u201d he said. According to Astaphan, \u201cThese constant losses give us a picture of greatest dishonesty on what the real issues affecting the country are.\u201d\r\n\r\nFormer president Eluid Williams was elected as president in September 2012 and served a one-year term.<\/span>\r\n\r\nBelow is a copy of the full judgement.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t