( L - R ) Golding, Simpson Miller

Legal arguments began yesterday in the appeal brought by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, arising from two Supreme Court orders in relation to a motion brought by Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller on behalf of former members of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The prime minister is appealing against a ruling on December 13, last year, which granted Simpson Miller leave to go to the Judicial Review Court to bar him from making recommendations to dismiss the former PSC members.

It is being contended that the prime minister's lawyers had asked for an adjournment on December 13 last year to file an affidavit to present to the court that the PSC members had already been dismissed, but the application was not granted.

Wrong decision

The prime minister is asking the Court of Appeal to find that the judge wrongly exercised her discretion when she granted leave to apply for judicial review. It is further contended that there was no evidence in support of the complaint that the prime minister did not afford the former PSC members a fair hearing or an opportunity to be heard.

The prime minister and the attorney general are also seeking to overturn a Supreme Court order on January 10, which gave Simpson Miller a 14-day extension in which to file a claim form for judicial review. The claim form was not filed within the required time and the appellants are contending that the Civil Procedure Rules of 2002 did not afford such an extension.

Justice Seymour Panton, president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Algernon Smith and Justice Hazel Harris are hearing the appeal.

New PSC members have since been appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister. The former PSC members were fired for misbehaviour. In January, four of the five PSC members took the prime minister to court over the issue.