Namah’s case fixed for hearing

The National Main Stories

By KARO JESSE
OPPOSITION Leader Belden Namah’s constitutional challenge questioning the passing of Budget 2021 and Parliament’s failure to deal with a notice of no confidence he tabled on Dec 14 has been fixed for hearing on May 12 before a full bench.
Supreme Court judge Justice Derek Hartshorn yesterday ordered the parties to file written submissions by May 3 and interveners, Attorney-General Dr Eric Kwa and Parliament Speaker Job Pomat, are to file any affidavit they wish to rely on by April 27.
Namah (applicant) is ordered to file and serve any affidavit of reply by April 30.
The court will hear two objections to competency filed against the case by the interveners before it proceeds on to the hearing of the constitutional challenge filed by way of a Supreme Court application.
Outside court, lawyer Peter Kuman, representing Kwa, told The National that the objections filed against the case raised an issue on lack of specific relief sought in the application by Namah.
“In our (interveners) objections to competency applications, we raise issues of relief as such that the application by Namah does not seek any specific relief,” he said.
“That’s the matter which we will argue before the court.”
The application raised important constitutional questions relating to the proper interpretation and application of the Constitution, and:

  • WHETHER the 2021 Budget passed by the parliament on Dec 16 was consistent with the Constitution and the spirit of the Constitution; and,
  • WHETHER the decision by Parliament to adjourn to April 20 was consistent with the Constitution, having regard to the fact that the mandatory process commenced with the submission of a notice of motion filed against

Prime Minister James Marape by the Opposition was not fully completed.
Namah claimed that Parliament’s decision to adjourn sitting to April 20 without debating and voting upon the motion was inconsistent with the Constitution.