REZISTANS EK ALTERNATIV : Le Privy Council affirme ne pas avoir de juridiction

Le Full Bench du Privy Council, composé de Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Lady Hale of Richmond, Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, Sir Paul Gruval et Sir Terence Etherton, affirme dans un jugement de 27 pages que cette instance ne dispose pas de juridiction « to grant special leave to appeal from the decision of the judge dismissing the applicants’ challenge to the returning officers’ decisions » à l’effet que les candidatures rejetées lors des élections du 5 mai 2010 étaient invalides. Ces 104 aspirants-candidats faisant partie du Rezistans ek Alternativ et du Blok 104 avaient refusé de décliner leur appartenance communale sur les Nomination Forms en faisant acte de candidature aux dernières élections générales.
“If it had held that the Judicial Committee had jurisdiction, the Board would not have granted special leave. It remains open to the applicants to advance a constitutional challenge in the future. The Board expresses no concluded views as to the merits of any such challenge, especially since it will be based on evidence put before the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee will then have the benefit of the views of the courts in Mauritius,” conclut le Privy Council dans le jugement rendu public cet après-midi à Londres.
Plus loin, les Law Lords ont soutenu que “The Board understands that the applicants wish to say that their existing constitutional rights have been infringed but does not think it right to reach any firm conclusions on the merits. It appreciates that, if the issues cannot be resolved politically, they may be raised before the Judicial Committee in the future.”