Court of Appeal grants leave to St Kitts and Nevis government

The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal today granted the St. Kitts and Nevis government leave to appeal the contempt of court ruling against the federation\'s Attorney General, Dr. Dennis Merchant, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan said that Justice Michael Gordon issued an order granting application for leave to appeal the refusal of High Court judge Rita Joseph-Olivetti to discharge the injunctions which were issued by Justice Francis Belle.



\"Justice Olivetti refused to discharge these orders on a variety of grounds. At the Court of Appeal this morning, a single judge of the Court of Appeal issued an order granting, to the extent that leave was necessary, leave for us to appeal that refusal to discharge the injunctions,\" Astaphan said.



People\'s Action Movement (PAM) had argued that there are constitutional concerns and insufficient time for public involvement in the process if boundaries were to be changed before the next general elections due early next year.



The government in July tabled the Report of the Constituencies Boundaries Commission through a Draft Proclamation Parliament, despite the injunction in the High Court prohibiting its use until the substantive case was heard.



A resolution approving the Draft Proclamation was passed by Parliament and signed into law by the Governor General.



In a brief ruling, Joseph-Olivetti said that while she agreed with the lawyers for the respondents, which included the Governor General, the Supervisor of Elections, the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General, that the substantive proceedings concern matters \"which are peculiarly parliamentary and governed by the provisions of the constitution...there are serious issues…that the applicants have not satisfied the court that they have the better of the arguments on all issues\".