Parlt waits for court decision on motion

By HELEN TARAWA
PARLIAMENT will await the decision of the Supreme Court on the cases relating to the vote-of-no-confidence, according to acting clerk Kala Aufa.
The first case is the reference filed last year by the State seeking the Supreme Court’s clarification on a ruling it handed down in 2016 on how Parliament should handle motions relating to a vote-of-no-confidence.
The second case was filed last week by the State asking the same court to stay a vote-of-no-confidence motion by Opposition MPs pending the determination of the reference.
The Opposition MPs have since withdrawn the motion.
Aufa told The National that Parliament would wait for the court decision.
“At this stage the case is before court so Parliament will not release any information. After we hear the court decision then we will be able to state what is expected,” Aufa said.
Parliament resumes sitting next Tuesday.
Justice Minister and Attorney-General Alfred Manase said Parliament was also a party to the court proceeding.
He said Parliament should be free to conduct its affairs without any interference by any other arm of the government.
Manase said the Supreme Court reference filed by his predecessor Davis Steven last year was to clearly demarcate the roles and functions of the three arms of government, in particular how far the courts should go in interpreting the constitution to preserve the principal of the separation of powers between the three arms.