The Government is praising the decision of a High Court Judge to refuse to grant an injunction to stop the Parliamentary debate on the Privileges Committee’s report relating to contempt allegations against Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal.
Speaking at a press conference, minutes after Justice Jacqueline Wilson delivered her decision around midday on Wednesday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi claimed that the decision preserved the immunity and privileges of the Parliament as enshrined under the Constitution.
“It is an important decision because it says that Parliament can regulate its own practices, processes and members. If Parliament cannot hold discipline amongst its members, we are going to invite chaos into our equation,” Al-Rawi said.
Describing Moonilal’s injunction application as absurd, Al-Rawi claimed that it would have set a legal precedent which would have allowed parliamentarians to mount legal challenges to frustrate the work of the committee.
“That would have respectfully made a mockery of the separation of powers argument and it would mean that on every whim and fancy of any sitting parliamentarian, the court process can be invoked to stop Parliament’s autonomy,” Al-Rawi said.
“Although we have not gotten the reasons of the judge as yet, what flows is the acceptance that injunctive relief on allegations of a breach of fundamental rights do not trump the Constitution as a whole. The Constitution must be read as a whole,” Al-Rawi said, as he claimed that T&T was among a handful of nations which incorporated the immunity and privileges of Parliament into its Constitution.
As Moonilal has lost his bid for the injunction, he will now have to await the outcome of his substantive constitutional motion lawsuit over the composition of the committee, which produced the report against him. The case is expected to come up for hearing before Wilson on July 8, but the date may be vacated if the parties elect to rely only on their written submissions and wait for a final decision later in the month.
Through the lawsuit, Moonilal is seeking declarations against the committee as well as financial compensation over its handling of his case.
The contempt of Parliament allegations against Moonilal stemmed from a series of statements he made in the House of Representatives on October 9 and 10, last year.
One complaint dealt with when Moonilal alleged told Laventille West MP Fitzgerald Hinds “that’s why Snake have lead for you”, while the other dealt with Moonilal’s statements over an alleged deal between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, AV Drilling and a Miami-based company, which was subsequently refuted by Rowley.
Hinds and Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis raised the issue of privilege and Speaker of the House Brigid Annisette-George, who chairs the committee, agreed to the motion.
The main ground of Moonilal’s substantive lawsuit against the committee is that neither Hinds nor Annisette-George should have been allowed to participate as Hinds is involved in one complaint and because both members had previously made prejudicial statements against him when the issue of privilege was first raised.
In the report, which was tabled, last Tuesday, the committee claimed that Moonilal’s comments were threatening in nature and brought the House into public odium. The committee also suggested that he should be asked to apologise.
The report was passed by Parliament during the hearing, yesterday, but Moonilal is expected to apologise during the next sitting.
Moonilal is being represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Gerald Ramdeen, Umesh Maharaj and Dayadai Harripaul. Douglas Mendes, SC, is representing the AG’s Office, while Deborah Peake, SC, is representing Annisette-George.