DOMINICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER BLASTS GRENADA'S LEGAL ADVISOR

ST GEORGE'S, CMC, June 7, 2008 - Dominica's constitutional lawyer Anthony Astaphan has blasted Hugh Wildman, the legal advisor to the Grenada Government, for suggesting that a recent decision of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Court of Appeal was politically motivated.

Astaphan was reacting to public comments from Wildman after the court dismissed an application by the Grenada Government seeking to appeal an earlier ruling favouring opposition politician Peter David in a dual citizenship matter.

"We have a thoroughly impartial and independent court that has completely divorced itself from any sort of political influence," declared Astaphan in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) this week.

"But time in and time out Mr. Wildman and others in Grenada have sought to accuse the court of all sorts of political nonsense whenever the matters don't go their way".

Monday's ruling handed down in Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI), says the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the government's appeal against an earlier judgement by Justice Kenneth Benjamin.

Benjamin's 2006 ruling said that the Attorney General did not file his application in accordance with the People Representation Act

– the law which establishes election procedure - and therefore the case against David should be thrown out.

"The strategy is to hold the judgement as long as possible and to bring it as close to the election to make the issue an academic one," protested a visibly upset Wildman in a news conference this week.

"They knew that election was going to be called in Grenada sometime this year so anytime now or next month or so to give a ruling would make it academic".

Parliament was prorogued on Tuesday paving the way for general elections on July 8.

Government lawyers have argued that David's 2003 election as the candidate for the town of St.George violated the Constitution, which states that persons offering themselves for parliamentary positions should not have allegiance to a foreign power or state. David is a Grenadian who also holds Canadian citizenship.

"If that was just an isolated statement I would refer to it as idiotic but the fact is there has been a systematic attack on the judiciary coming from the corridors of power in Grenada," Astaphan insisted.

"I think it's a...threat to our democracy and our judiciary. We have an extremely independent and impartial court and I think the time has come for this nonsense out of St. George's, Grenada to stop".

Wildman was contacted for further comment on the matter but declined.