The long-awaited decision in the dual-citizenship case which People's National Party candidate Abe Dabdoub has brought against Member of Parliament Daryl Vaz will be handed down on Friday.

"I have instructed the registrar of the Court of Appeal that we will be in a position to hand down the decision on Friday," Justice Seymour Panton, president of the Court of Appeal, told The Gleaner yesterday.

The court's ruling would also determine whether or not Prime Minister Bruce Golding would have to call an early election. There are three other election petitions pending in the Supreme Court which involve dual citizenship.

Not entitled to represent

Dabdoub brought an election petition after the September 3, 2007 general election, contending that Vaz was a United States (US) citizen and was not entitled to be a member of parliament (MP).

The PNP candidate for West Portland claimed Vaz had pledged allegiance to a foreign power and his presence as an MP would be a breach of the Constitution.

Vaz contended that he inherited his US citizenship by birth because his mother was American.

Chief Justice Zaila McCalla ruled in April last year that because Vaz had obtained a US passport as an adult and had travelled on it, he had pledged allegiance to a foreign power.

By-election order

She ordered a by-election in the West Portland constituency, pointing out that Dabdoub had issued notices of Vaz's dual citizenship throughout the constituency, but then Director of Elections Danville Walker had issued press releases stating all candidates had been duly nominated.

Dabdoub appealed against the chief justice's ruling on the grounds that she erred in her decision as the law stated clearly that he should have been returned as the duly elected MP because he was the only duly nominated candidate.

Vaz has also appealed on the grounds that the chief justice erred when she held that he was not properly nominated. He contended that the holding of a US passport was part of the entitlement of a citizen.

The JLP MP has since renounced his US citizenship and remains in Parliament because the court had granted a stay of the chief justice's ruling, pending the outcome of the appeal.

One of two rulings

Legal experts have said there can only be one of two rulings in the case. The Court of Appeal, comprising Justice Panton, Justice Algernon Smith and Justice Karl Harrison, will either uphold the chief justice's ruling or give the seat to Dabdoub.

The question has arisen as to whether there can be an appeal to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council in an election petition.

Michael Hylton, QC, told The Gleaner yesterday that "election petition cases end in the Court of Appeal. It is one of the special cases in which the law wants to limit the time it will take to resolve the issue".

Another lawyer said that both the Constitution and the Election Petition Act state that the Court of Appeal is the final court, but he pointed out that if constitutional issues were involved in an election petition, then "it is debatable as to whether the constitutional issues can be taken to the Privy Council".

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com