COVID vaccine Mandate case hearing adjourned in St Vincent and the Grenadines

The highly anticipated court hearing for an appeal in the COVID-19 mandate case has been adjourned by the Court of Appeal in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The hearing was scheduled for Thursday and was attended by all the lawyers involved, who joined a virtual meeting set up on Zoom.

A three-member panel has been set up for this particular hearing, which included Justice of Appeal Mario Michel, Trevor Ward and Gerard Farara.

Justice of Appeal Mario Michel stated that one of the members of the panel was unable to attend the virtual meeting, due to which he was unable to hear the appeal and make an informed decision on the matter.

Michel added, “Accordingly, and regrettably, this matter will be adjourned to a date to be fixed by the chief registrar in consultation with counsel.”

He went on to reassure the lawyers involved in this case that the first convenient date available to counsel will be made use of to proceed, in accordance with the chief registrar’s regulations and stipulations.

Justice of Appeal Michel has said that no further delays are expected in this case and the necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the hearing proceeds in a timely manner.

He also stated the following, “Of course, the court deeply regrets having to take this course of action. We’re assuming that all counsel were in fact ready to proceed with the matter.”

Justice Michel also apologised to all the lawyers who were a part of the proceedings, considering the fact that they had spent a lot of time, preparing extensively for the hearing.

“Hopefully, that time and effort would not be completely dissipated by the fact that very soon the matter should be rescheduled for hearing.”

He also apologised for an incident that occurred two days ago, when the Court of Appeal denied the request of a counsellor seeking an adjournment, even though the opposing side agreed the adjournment.

Michel added, “And I lamented the fact how much time would have been utilised preparing the matter up until four o’clock that morning.”

“And what the court has just subjected counsel to is probably the same thing that counsel in that other method subjected the court to. So, we know how inconvenient that must be the council. And as I said, on behalf of the bench, my sincerest apologies.”

The lead lawyer for the government in this case, Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan, informed the court that he would be unavailable during the last week of February.

Notably, High Court judge Justice Esco Henry, issued a ruling on the 13th of March, 2023, stating that the public sector workers dismissed due the COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued in December of 2021, did not cease to hold their respective jobs.

She also issued an order to the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to furnish them with the wages and benefits that they would have received if the government had not terminated their jobs. On top of this, the government has also been asked to pay punitive damages to those affected by this decision.

Justice of Appeal Paul Webster granted the government’s appeal against this ruling, which asked for a stay of execution for the order in April last year.

The Public Service Union has sponsored the lawsuit, SVG Teachers Union and the Police Welfare Association. The claimants of the lawsuit include dismissed public sector workers, Shanile Howe, Novita Robert, Cavet Thomas, Alfonzo Lyttle, Brenton Smith, Sylvorne Olliver, Shefflorn Ballantyne, Travis Cumberbatch and Rohan Giles.

The respondents have been listed as the Minister of Health and the Environment, the Public Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney General and the Police Service Commission.

The meeting on Thursday was attended by Astaphan, Solicitor General, Karen Duncan Gonsalves, Senior Crown Counsel Cerepha Harper-Joseph, Franeek Joseph, Shernell Hadaway, parliamentary counsel, and Grahame Bollers, on behalf of the appellants.

Similarly, Cara Shillingford-Marsh, Jomo Sanga Thomas and Shirlan Barnwell appeared on behalf of the respondents.