Chief Justice slams lawyer

CHIEF Justice Sir Gibbs Salika has slammed a lawyer who was seeking to refer a Supreme Court reference to its registry to await further instructions on what to do with the matter.
Sir Gibbs, on behalf of a three-person bench, the other two being Justice Teresa Berrigan and Ellenas Batari, said: “I am not going to refer it (Supreme court reference) anywhere. I am going to return it to the registry but it must be given a date.”
Sir Gibbs was speaking to lawyer Jerome Sioni, who represented former prime minister Peter O’Neill on Friday in an urgent application hearing to stay a vote of no-confidence motion. Sioni made an application to the court seeking that the stay application be withdrawn.
Sir Gibbs ordered that the application be withdrawn, but the substantive proceeding of a reference (SCR OS 2/2019) to test the legality of a vote of no confidence proceed for further directions.
“I don’t want parties to simply file it (references to registry) and forget it there,” he said.
“Some of the issues raised here are important for the future of our country, and therefore it is necessary that the court takes note of how it is going to be progressed.
“There are some references which have been filed and have been in the registry for some years now.
“We ask the parties to attend to them quickly,” Sir Gibbs said.
He said for Supreme Court reference SCR OS 2/2019: “I do not want this matter to be like others, not in progress.”
“That’s why I want to take control of this matter so that people are encouraged to progress the matter to hearing because there important constitutional issues that are been raised in this references.”
The matter was adjourned to June 14 for further direction.
Sir Gibbs this was the time for interested interveners to submit their applications.