​Sakora case: Constitutional questions referred for interpretation

Six questions have been referred to the Supreme Court for interpretation by the tribunal, which was set up by the Judicial Legal Service Commission to investigate a senior National and Supreme Court judge.

The tribunal, chaired by Justice Sir Bruce Robertson on Wednesday, allowed an application by Justice Sir Bernard Sakora, referring the constitutional questions for interpretation of the Supreme Court.

His lawyer, Loani Henao, told the tribunal yesterday that the six questions query the tribunal’s appointment and the process used to appoint it.

He asked for the jurisdictional basis of the tribunal to be dealt with by the Supreme Court, before the tribunal can investigate further. 

One of the questions referred for the Supreme Court’s interpretation is whether the JLSC meeting minutes of April 19 and June 1 of this year, constitutes the commission’s statement of reasons for its opinion.

The tribunal was set up by Judicial Legal Service Commission (JLSC) to investigate and report to the JLSC, if Justice Sir Bernard Sakora should be removed from the Office of a Judge.

The subject matter of investigation is over 50 delayed judgments in which Sir Bernard’s cases were heard and reserved for decisions.

The tribunal had been adjourned pending the interpretation of the questions by the Supreme Court.

The decision to appoint the tribunal was made by the JLSC under the chairmanship of the outgoing Attorney General Ano Pala, and could not be effected before he left office.

The appointment of the tribunal by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission will investigate matters referred to the Commission to determine whether there are good grounds for removing Justice Sir Bernard Sakora from his office.

Author: 
Sally Pokiton