OC will file Supreme Court reference

The Ombudsman Commission has announced that it will file a Supreme Court reference to rest the constitutional validity of the recently passed Public Money Management Regularisation Act 2017 (PMMR Act).

The Commission says it is of the view that a number of the Act’s provisions raise serious constitutional issues.

The Constitutional issues relate to:

  • Right to ownership of property
  • Constitutional status of constitutional institutions
  • Removal of jurisdiction of the courts
  • Parliamentary control of public finance
  • Harsh and oppressive penalties
  • Protection of the law
  • Constitution as Supreme Law and
  • Freedom of expression

The Ombudsman Commission says the decision to file a Constitutional Reference also follows a public statement the commission made on 13th April after it met with the Department of Finance and deliberated on the finer aspects of the PMMR Act, to determine whether there are irregularities or sufficient doubt as to the constitutionality of the passing of the Act.

The OC is an independent constitutional institution conferred with a number of functions, one of which is the power to file Constitutional references to seek the Supreme Court’s opinion on the constitutionality of laws or proposed laws under section 19 of the Constitution.

Author: 
Charmaine Poriambep