Hayles

Member of Parliament for West Hanover, Ian Hayles, has failed in his attempt to get a Supreme Court order to strike out the constitutional motion seeking to have him removed from Parliament.

Hayles' application was turned down yesterday and he is taking the issue to the Court of Appeal.Jamaica Labour Party candidate Donovan Hamilton is alleging that Hayles had dual citizenship when he ran for the seat in the September 2007 general election.

Hayles has refuted the allegation saying he renounced his US citizenship before he was nominated.Supreme Court Judge Donald McIntosh, in dismissing Hayles' application, granted leave for Hayles to appeal his ruling.

no authority

Hamilton filed the motion this year, asking the court to declare a by-election in the constituency because Hayles was not entitled under the Constitution to be a member of parliament.

Attorneys-at-law Gayle Nelson and Abe Dabdoub, who are representing Hayles, had argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim because the proper procedures were not followed.

Hayles claimed that the motion was filed out of time because Hamilton took too long after the September 3, 2007, general election to file the claim.

Attorney-at-law Nesta Smith, who is representing Hamilton, had opposed Hayles' application and said her client had the right to bring the motion under the Constitution.

the real mischief

Justice McIntosh, in handing down his ruling yesterday, said the real mischief in the application was the attempt to oust the jurisdiction of the court by an implied suggestion that statutory law superseded the Constitution.

He said it must be clearly understood that the Constitution was the primary law of the land. "The Constitution gives the citizen the right to bring a petition before the court in any constitutional matter," the judge said.

"This right of the citizen to petition the court for constitutional redress has not been summarily aborted or abrogated by any statute," the judge held.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com