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Court Throws Out Motion By Former Jamaica Opposition Legislator

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – A Supreme Court judge, Monday, threw out an application by former senator Arthur Williams seeking to prevent Opposition Leader Andrew Holness from filling vacant seats in the Senate.

Justice Paulette Williams delivered her ruling in Chambers and Williams’ attorney Wentworth Charles told reporters he intends pursuing the matter.

Williams, the former leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, had filed the application challenging the decision of Holness to submit undated letters of resignation to the Governor General.

But in handing down her ruling, Justice Williams said that the office of the Leader of the Opposition is of some constitutional importance and that he should not be restrained from filling the vacancies.

Williams was asking the court to prevent Holness, who was re-elected leader of the party earlier this month, from filling vacancies in the Senate.

He was also asking the court to find that his undated resignation letter was a breach of his constitutional rights and that the court should also declare that the appointment of senators is for the term of the life of their appointment.

Last week, Senate President Floyd Morris said Williams and Dr. Christopher Tufton had resigned from the Upper house.

But Williams contended that the Opposition Leader had employed a strategy to secure his resignation.

In a statement he said when the JLP senators were appointed in January 2012, Holness, a former prime minister, was “deeply concerned about any of them departing from the party’s position in relation to the Caribbean Court of Justice”.

The JLP has called for a referendum before Jamaica joins the Trinidad-based court that was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court.

Williams said that as a result all the Senators were required to sign undated letters of resignation and a letter authorizing the Opposition Leader to date and submit the letters to the Governor General.

Williams said he did not agree to the  request made for a mass resignation of the opposition senators and that as a result of his refusal, Holness submitted the un-dated letters of resignation to the Governor General although the matter had nothing to do with the CCJ.

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