(From left) Senior PNP members Colin Campbell, Portia Simpson Miller, Robert Pickersgill and Phillip Paulwell.
The Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom-based Privy Council has decided that former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and other senior members of the People s National Party (PNP) must give testimony in open court in relation to the now 14-year-old Trafigura matter.
The Privy Council handed down its decision on Monday morning in a 21-page judgment which was published on its website.
In rejecting the appeal filed by the lawyers for the PNP officials to testify in open court, the Law Lords of the Privy Council pointed out that There was no material before the court to lead to the conclusion that a public hearing might jeopardise the investigation in The Netherlands, or any subsequent investigation or proceedings which might follow in Jamaica .
Privy Council dismisses appeal of PNP five in Trafigura case jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom-based Privy Council is to rule soon on the now 14-year-old Trafigura matter involving former Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, and other senior members of the People s National Party (PNP).
On Monday the committee reserved its judgment following arguments from attorney representing the PNP officials, Alexis Robinson, and the attorney representing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on whether the PNP officials should give testimony in the case in open court or in secret.
While a date was not given for the ruling to be handed down by the UK Privy Council, the court said it will consider the arguments and later issue its decision
Former parliamentarian Ronald Thwaites is calling for the urgent revival of discussions around dual citizenship in the House of Representatives, which a joint select committee began after he tabled a motion in 2010 but were never brought to a fruitful conclusion.
Thwaites’ motion would have required all members of the Lower and Upper Houses to declare their citizenship status following a series of by-elections triggered by a court ruling that the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Daryl Vaz was ineligible to sit in the Parliament as a result of his United States citizenship following the 2007 general election.
The ruling also resulted in three other JLP members of parliament – Gregory Mair, Michael Stern and Shahine Robinson – having to vacate their seats. All four were returned in by-elections after renouncing their foreign citizenship.