Global Black Voices: News from around the World
- High Court declared President Sylvanie Burton acted unconstitutionally by refusing to recognize four Opposition Senators' support for 18 months.
- Justice Zainab Jawara-Alami ruled appointed Senators are full House members, entitled to constitutional rights and participation in appointing the Leader of the Opposition.
- Lennox Linton said the ruling affirms the supremacy of the Constitution, vindicating democracy and accountability for Dominica.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Attorney General Levi Peter says the government is considering whether or not to appeal a High Court ruling that provided former opposition leader Lennox Linton with an historic and landmark constitutional victory in the matter of the appointment of an opposition leader.
“We have to look at the matter and determine whether we appeal it. At this point, it’s a live possibility. I might say probability from my own point of view, because I think the issues involved are of sufficient significance that perhaps it should be determined at a higher level than the first instance court,” Peter told reporters.
Linton had challenged the “erroneous interpretation” of the Dominica Constitution by President Sylvanie Burton, arguing that she had acted illegally in failing to appoint an Opposition Leader.
Justice Zainab Jawara-Alami declared that the President acted unconstitutionally when, for 18 months, she refused to recognize and take into account the support of the four Opposition Senators in determining who should be appointed Leader of the Opposition following the resignation of Jesma Paul-Victor on June, 20, 2024.
“The failure of the President to recognize and/or take into account the support of the four Senators in determining who should be appointed Leader of the Opposition following the resignation of Ms. Jesma Paul-Victor was unconstitutional,” the High Court ruled.
The High Court also dismissed an argument put forward by Peter that “unelected Senators are not empowered to canvass the President nor otherwise participate in the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, nor is the President on the occasion of the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, required to take into account any views of unelected Senators”.
But Justice Jawara-Alami held that the Constitution recognizes both elected Representatives and appointed Senators as members of the House.
“Upon appointment, Senators become full members and are entitled to exercise the constitutional rights, privileges and functions of that office, except where the Constitution expressly provides otherwise. Accordingly, the phrase “members of the House” in section 66(2) could not lawfully be restricted to elected Representatives alone.”
Linton, who was represented by a team that included former Trinidad and Tobago attorney general, Anand Ramlohan, said that the High Court “victory belongs to every Dominican who believes that public power must be exercised lawfully; that the Opposition has an indispensable role in our democracy; and that the Constitution must remain superior to political convenience, executive preference and partisan maneuvering.
“Today, the Constitution won. Democracy won. Accountability won,” he added.
But the Attorney General said that the possibility of an appeal is a matter the government will consider with ”various advisors and a determination will be made.
“But in my view, it is not unlikely that it will be appealed. The matter was determined in favor of the claimant. We’ll put it differently. You could say it’s likely to be appealed. It’s a matter that’s been discussed.
“I have my views, but ultimately …the government will decide whether it’s a matter that is felt should be appealed to get a higher court to opine on the issue,” Peter said.
