Constitution clear on 21, says QC

The language of The Constitution is clear, said Queen’s Counsel Garth Patterson.

It says the Senate shall consist of 21 senators and that word “shall” means it is mandatory, he declared.

The senior counsel, representing former Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, made the submissions when the constitutional motion challenging the validity of Parliament continued before Justice Cicely Chase via Zoom yesterday.

The motion is alleging that the Senate, with only 18 senators, was not properly constituted and, therefore by extension, neither was Parliament.

The application for judicial review claims that any business conducted by Parliament on or after February 4 this year, “including any law purportedly enacted by it, is invalid, null and void”. (HLE)

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