Asot’s legal action is ‘dead in the water’

A legal action suit filed by attorneys representing the suspended Member of
Parliament for St. Peter, Asot Michael, has no chance of success and is therefore
‘dead in the water.’
That is the view of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Gerald Watt,
KC, who appeared as a special guest on the Browne and Browne show on Pointe
FM on Saturday.
Sir Gerald explained that Michael has filed a Constitutional motion asking that he
not be prevented from taking his seat in the House of Representatives, despite
being suspended by members of the House.
“It’s dead in the water! His attorney has filed a Constitutional motion suggesting
that the St. Peter MP’s constitutional rights were being infringed, by keeping him
out of parliament. He asked for interim relief to be allowed to attend the next
sitting of the House. In essence, what he is looking for is an injunction against the
Speaker. This motion would bar the Speaker from preventing Michael from taking
his seat in the House,” he further explained.
According to the experienced and senior legal practitioner, Sir Gerald, the first
error is that a constitutional motion as the one proposed by Michael cannot be
brought against the Speaker.
“There is nothing new here as there is an abundance of Constitutional cases on that
matter in this region, as a matter of fact, Senior Counsel, Anthony Astaphan, has
done a number of these cases. The parliament is one arm of the government, the
legislature. The High Court doesn’t come into this on Constitutional matters unless
the Standing Orders have a Constitutional provision which one must follow,” he
revealed.
Michael was suspended from three sittings of the House when members voted to
reprimand him for behavior deemed by the members, to be disrespectful and
unworthy of a sitting member of the House.
As Sir Gerald has stated, Michael must serve his suspension, as his legal actions do
not affect the operations of the House.