By Prior Beharry
PRIME MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley still cannot lay the audit into the issuance of firearm users’ licences under the tenure of Gary Griffith as police commissioner in Parliament.
This was the ruling of the Court of Appeal comprising Justice of Appeal Nolan Bureaux, Peter Rajkumar and Maria Wilson on Wednesday.
The appellate court heard the appeal of the State against the decision of Justice Devindra Rampersad, who on December 13 granted an injunction in favour of Griffith, after the state failed to give an undertaking that the audit report would not be laid in Parliament.
But while the injunction remains, it was deemed “too wide” and was varied.
The court ruled that the report could be shared with the Cabinet and with people named in it so they can make representations. But those people will only get excerpts of the parts that affect them.
The Appeal Court ruled that the audit report must be redacted and this must remain in place until March 3, 2023, when Justice Rampersad was expected to deliver his decision.
In a release, hours after the Appeal Court ruling, Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, said that the Court of Appeal delivered its ruling having regard to the public interest and national security considerations.
He said, “The Court today ruled orally that a) the assurance given by the Attorney General in his letter dated September 6, 2022 was sufficient, b) that the order granted by the High Court was too wide.
“They allowed the Prime Minister’s appeal in part, recognizing that the Government must be allowed to continue its process, which it had always intended to do, and in fact had indicated it would, which is to provide any party against whom there is the potential for adverse findings to be made against, including Gary Griffith, with an opportunity to be heard.
This was always the Honourable Prime Minister’s position and today’s decision by the Court of Appeal clears the way for this to happen. The Court of Appeal’s decision today also clears the way for the Audit Committee to continue its work and deliberations and it will so do.”
And Griffith in a statement said he felt vindicated.
He said, “With regards to the ruling today of the court of appeal, I feel vindicated that my actions of going to court to get an injunction to restrain the prime minister from publishing the FUL report in Parliament, because of the breach of my natural justice rights, as well as concerns I have with the constitutionality of the report itself, are right and just.”
