Former-Vanuatu Deputy PM Appeal Dismissed, Seat Declared Vacant
The Vanuatu Court of Appeal has dismissed Joe Natuman’s appeal case.
This effectively means that Natuman’s seat is now vacant and the Electoral Office will now arrange for a by-election to take place on Tanna.
Mr Natuman had filed a case in the Supreme Court for an urgent claim for judicial review against the Speaker of Parliament. He sought remedy in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Speaker who declared his seat vacant based on the advise of the Attorney-General and prevented Natuman from entering parliament.
This urgent judicial review was dismissed by the Supreme Court Judge, Daniel Fatiaki.
This resulted in the appeal. In the Appeal Court, Natuman’s lawyer Edward Nalyal, submitted four grounds of appeal “to re-agitate the arguments and submissions he had advanced in the Supreme Court on behalf of the appellant”.
The Appeal Court stated that, at the hearing however the legal counsel conceded that a suspended imprisonment sentence is and remains an imprisonment sentence.
This meant that related appeal grounds such as 1, 2, and 3 in the Notice of Appeal in this case could not be considered further following the concession.
The only ground that the Appeal Court considered was ground 4 that states that the primary judge erred in determining the meaning of the phrase ‘imprisonment for “a term of not less than two years” and failed to accept the appellant’s submission that the meaning of the phrase “not less than two years” must mean “a term exceeding two years”.