Lawyer wants President Barrow to appear in court

By Mafugi Ceesay Ibrahima Jallow, a lawyer who sued the president and the national assembly over a conditional violation in 2015, yesterday asked the Supreme Court to order President Adama Barrow to appear in person on the next adjourned date despite both being represented by the attorney general. The case was only mentioned yesterday and adjourned to a date to be communicated to the parties concerned. Relaying section 69 sub section (2) of the constitution, Counsel Jallow told the Supreme Court that the president shall appear before the court despite his status. However, Justice GB Janneh asked counsel to make the application for the president to appear formally. Background Lawyer Ibrahima Jallow, a legal practitioner in The Gambia filed a case against the President of the Republic which happens to be Adama Barrow right now and the National Assembly claiming that the President on December 27 2015, which happened to be Yahya Jammeh, unconstitutionally assented to the Legal Practitioners Act before it was passed by the National Assembly. He said acting on the powers conferred on it by the constitution of the republic of the Gambia, the National Assembly of the Gambia too passed the Legal Practitioners Act 2015 on 29 December 2015 after the act was assented to by the president, in contravention of the provisions of section 100 of the constitution of The Gambia. Contrary to the provisions of Section 100 of the Constitution of the Gambia, the National Assembly of the Gambia gazetted the Legal Practitioners Act 2015 on 3rd February 2016 eight (8) days outside the Constitutional prescribed period. According to the litigants, the Constitutional period is within thirty (30) of assent by the president. “The act and or omission of the NAM and the president in paragraph 9,10 and 11 are in contravention and inconsistent with the provision of section 100 of the constitution of the Gambia,” Lawyer Jallow argued. “The act and or omission of the NAM and the president are not only unconstitutional but are procedurally improper.” Jallow said an action for the declaration under section 5 of the Constitution of the Gambia can be brought against any authority or person and or the president of the republic of the Gambia in his official capacity or title by virtue of section 69 (2) of the constitution of the Gambia.]]>