Pala joins as fifth intervener in PM’s case

ATTORNEY-General Ano Pala has joined as a party in a reference that concerns the powers of the Ombudsman Commission to investigate Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in the K3 billion loan from the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in 2014.
Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, presiding as a single Supreme Court judge, allowed Pala to join as the fifth intervener in the case because there was no objection from lawyers representing the Ombudsman Commission and the prime minister.
Sir Salamo advised parties to speed up the case and focus on the substantive issues before the court.
He said the issues were already framed by Justice Catherine Davani, the judge who referred constitutional questions to the Supreme Court.
He added that the case was on the fast-track list for the matter to have an expedited hearing.
Last week, the court allowed former chief ombudsman Rigo Lua and acting Chief Ombudsman Phoebe Sangetari to join as interveners in the reference.
The constitutional questions relate to whether O’Neill comes under the definition of section 214 (1) (a) of the Constitution and section 13 of the Organic Law on the Ombudsman Commission.
The Ombudsman Commission relied on this provision to investigate O’Neill.
Davani had restrained the Ombudsman Commission from investigating O’Neill on the UBS transaction until the Supreme Court determined the 11 constitutional questions.
The National Executive Council on March 6, 2014, approved the borrowing to acquire a 10.01 per cent interest in Oil Search Ltd.