AN appeal of a High Court judge’s decision not to set aside leave granted to Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT) lay assessor Veera Bhajan and her favourable ruling are likely to be heard together.
On Monday, two Court of Appeal judges agreed to adjourn the procedural appeal of the EOT and its chairman against the order of Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams to hold a rolled-up hearing, as there were two other applications in the Court of Appeal.
In October, the EoT and its chairman, Donna Prowell-Raphael, sought to have Quinlan-Williams hear their application to have the leave granted to Bhajan set aside.
The judge ruled against this move, instead choosing to hold a rolled-up hearing in which she dealt with that application and Bhajan’s lawsuit over her taking up her position with the tribunal.
The tribunal and Prowell-Raphael appealed, but in November, working with a strict timeline, Quinlan-Williams held the trial and gave her decision in Bhajan’s favour.
Prowell-Raphael has appealed the final decision as well as filing an application to have the two appeals consolidated and heard at an expedited hearing.
The application to have the appeals consolidated is fixed for hearing on December 20, before the Chamber Court.
In a ruling on Monday, Justices of Appeal Mira Dean-Armorer and James Aboud agreed to adjourn the procedural appeal assigned to them pending the hearing of the application in the Chamber court.
“It is our view the determination of the procedural appeal will have an effect on both the application for consolidation and substantive appeal,” Dean-Armorer said in an oral decision.
She went on to add that if they chose to hear the procedural appeal and make a determination, this would lead to a conflict between their ruling and the final ruling in the substantive appeal, leading to uncertainty.
Bhajan’s attorneys and those for the Attorney General objected to an adjournment of the procedural appeal, saying it was an abuse of the court’s processes.
The procedural appeal was eventually adjourned to February 21, for a status update.
Last Monday, attorneys for Prowell-Raphael filed her appeal against Quinlan-Williams’ decision on November 23.
The EoT has said it will not appeal the decision.
In her appeal, the tribunal’s chairman complained of the entire decision of the judge, who ordered that Bhajan should receive compensation for the failure by the EoT and the chairman to comply with her presidential appointment, made on March 17.
The judge also ruled the action of the tribunal and its chairman was unlawful and taken in bad faith. She also ordered the two to comply with the appointment and granted an injunction restraining any attempt to prevent Bhajan from taking up her post as lay assessor.
Prowell-Raphael wants an order setting aside the judge’s decision and one to dismiss Bhajan’s original judicial review claim. Alternatively, she wants the matter to be reassigned to a new judge.
In her appeal, she alleges the judge erred in law, acted without jurisdiction, and demonstrated ap
