Judge: UNC executive acted ‘ultra vires’By INDARJIT SEURAJ Thursday, September 24 2009
click on pic to zoom in
Former House Speaker, Rupert Griffith....
A High Court judge yesterday urged members of the UNC executive, split earlier this year, to engage in dialogue rather than solving their differences via the courts.
The split occurred during a meeting at the party’s Rienzi Complex headquarters, earlier this year.
“I am asking you people to try and entertain talk. We have a duty to avoid litigation,” Justice Sebastian Ventour said yesterday.
Ventour, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Civil Court, had just moments earlier, granted interim relief to former House Speaker, Dr Rupert Griffith, in a lawsuit brought by Griffith and two others, challenging their suspension from the UNC’s executive in May, this year.
Ventour ruled that UNC National Executive (Natex) had acted ‘ultra vires’ (beyond powers) in their decision to suspend the executive members following the March 22 party meeting at Rienzi.
Interviewed afterwards, Griffith told reporters he was open to talks with the UNC to resolve the impasse.
“There is always room for discussion,” he said.
He noted, however, that there should be mutual respect between the parties.
“We want the human dignity to be treated with respect,” he said.
He noted that the oral ruling showed that they were treated unfairly.
“We believe that the court made the point clear that natural justice was denied.” Ventour had questioned the merit of the action, noting that the three-month suspension period had ended in August.
Griffith, who had served as House Speaker in the Basdeo Panday administration, together with Don Sylvester and Sylvester Ramquar, had brought the action after they were suspended by Natex on May 20, this year.
In his oral ruling, Ventour was critical of the decision taken by the executive.
“One can see clearly that they acted ultra vires, and even if I am wrong about that, Natex was in breach of the principles of natural justice,” Ventour said.
He added, “They are entitled to discipline their members but they must do it properly.”
Ventour declared that the “rights of the applicants” had been violated. He said that while Natex had the right to suspend the applicants so as to not contaminate their investigation, the process for doing so was flawed.
The applicants had asked for the reasons for their suspension, so they could have responded, he noted. But this was not forthcoming.
Kelvin Ramkissoon and Om Lalla appeared for the applicants, while Kamla Persad-Bissessar represented the UNC National Executive.
