The Court of Appeal of Vanuatu has released its written judgment on Civil Appeal Case No. 3908 of 2024, which involved members of the former parliamentary opposition and the President of the Republic.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the case on December 13, 2024, the Court of Appeal convened on December 27, 2024, to hear the appeal.
Judgment of the Court of Appeal
On January 28, 2025, Justice Dudley Aru, in his written judgment, stated that the Court of Appeal concurred with the Supreme Court’s decision that the dissolution of Parliament by the President on November 18, 2024, was lawful.
Regarding the motion against the President, the Speaker’s Office had issued a press release on November 14, 2024, asserting that the motion to remove the President was in order.
The court considers that the Electoral College comprises 58 members. The motion to the Speaker and to be considered by the Electoral College requires the support of at least one third of the Members, or 20 persons (more than 19 persons). As recorded above, the motion presented to the Speaker was supported by 19 Members of Parliament, but that is less than one third of the membership of the Electoral College.
The court of appeal stated that for the reasons set out above, the impeachment motion was invalid as it should have been signed by 20 members of the Electoral College, not 19. Thus, the Speaker was wrong to hold that the motion was in order.
Potential Further Action
Amid speculation on social media that the President may take legal action against the 19 signatories of the motion, VBTC News has confirmed that no case has yet been filed in court. Reliable sources indicated that the office of the President was awaiting the written judgment of the Court of Appeal. With the judgment now released, any action taken by the President’s Office will be guided by the principles of integrity and the interests of the Office of the Head of State.
Election Outcomes The official results of the snap general election indicate that 10 out of the 19 former Members of Parliament who signed the motion were re-elected.