Kanhai asks Military Court to declare itself incompetent

Defense Attorney Irvin Kanhai on Monday asked the Military Court to declare itself incompetent in the December 8 case where Stephanus Dendoe, Ernst Geffery, Iwan Dijksteel, Winston Caldeira and Errol Alibux are on trial. The defense attorney explained that he based his request on the fact that the Military Court had made two contradictory decisions. He asked the Military Court to do what the lawmaker expects of the judge namely to do what the amended Amnesty Act of 1992 states. Kanhai explained that the Military Court on May 11, 2012 decided to ‘suspend’ the trial. “The defense is compelled to test the status of your investigation after 2016 and to determine if your resumption of the investigation has any legal footing,” said Kanhai who added that there was in fact a final ruling in the December 8 trial on May 11, 2012. As a result of this the resumption of the trial after the final ruling does not have any legal basis. Kanhai made it clear that the law clearly states that the judge is not free to give a broader definition to clear legislation. The defense pointed out that in 2012 the Military Court had not concluded that a constitutional right had been violated but that it suddenly reached that conclusion in 2016. The judge did not have the authority to test the law but suddenly had the authority in 2016. “The contradictory decisions by the same court are neither good for the judge nor the legal system and gives a distorted image of the legal institutes,” said Kanhai who added that there must be a consequence which must be the result of the self-reflection of the court.