AG and Police Commissioner given leave to appeal
Date Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007Author: Nastassja Johnston
Politics, Court
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Attorney General Phil Perinchief and Police Commissioner George Jackson have been granted leave to appeal the courts' decision not to gag the media over the Bermuda Housing Corporation dossier.
The case will now be heard by the Privy Council in London and the media will remain banned from publishing further documents until the case has been settled.
Yesterday the Court of Appeal upheld Chief Justice Richard Ground's decision to lift the interim gag order but Delroy Duncan, representing the appellants, immediately launched an appeal.
This morning the three-judge panel, headed by President Justice Edward Zacca, heard legal arguments from Mr Duncan and Saul Froomkin QC, representing the media organisations, before coming to their decision to refer the case to the Privy Council.
The Appeal Court judges said they did not have the power to extend the interim gag order as the case now fell under the Privy Council's jurisdiction but the council stayed the injunction.
The Attorney General and Commissioner of Police launched their action against the media after Bermuda Broadcasting and the Mid Ocean News published extracts from the confidential documents, which contain details of the investigation into a number of high profile public figures including Premier Dr Ewart Brown.
The case will resume under the Privy Council in 30 days, allowing the appellants a chance to prepare records to be sent off to London, although a full hearing may not take place until the autumn.