Justice minister Steven joins case as first intervener

MINISTER for Justice and Attorney-General Davis Steven has joined as a first intervener in a Supreme Court application questioning the validity of the National Pandemic Act.
The Act was recently passed by Parliament in response to Covid-19.
The Supreme Court application was filed by Opposition Leader Belden Namah questioning its emergency powers under the constitution.
Justice Derek Hartshorn sitting as single-man bench yesterday granted leave to Steven after an application to intervene was submitted by solicitor-general Tauvasa Tanuvasa.
Tanuvasa submitted that the State had a direct interest in the application since it questioned the constitutionality of the Act and its emergency powers under the constitution. The Catholic Society’s application to intervene was adjourned to Friday for hearing, allowing time for lawyer representing the society Alois Jerewai to serve the application to Namah’s lawyer Young and Williams.
Namah through the application is requesting the court to declare the National Pandemic Act unconstitutional and invalid for the following reasons: Part VII of the Act (Finance and Procurement) offends against the principle of parliamentary control over raising and expending of public money; and, section 52 of the Act purports to exclude the operation of the National Procurement Act 2018 and the Public Finance Management Act 1995 during “a declared period” unlawfully abrogating the powers and functions of supervision and control of the auditor-general and the Public Accounts Committee and vest them in the Pandemic Controller. The application says that the Act altered the constitutional system of government by removing legislative powers.