Clerk of the Houses of Parliament Colleen Lowe read out the tabling of the Attorney General's opinion.
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House Clerk Colleen Lowe
The Attorney General's opinion on the tabling of reports from the Auditor General and Integrity Commission has been tabled in the House of Representatives.
Tabling of the AG's opinion was read out by Clerk of the Houses of Parliament Colleen Lowe, during Tuesday's sitting of the House.
The opinion was tabled following months of delay by the government.
There were two letters - one from Solicitor General Marlene Aldred and the other from Attorney General Derrick McKoy.
The conclusion from the Solicitor General stated: “It is therefore my opinion that the current practice of the Parliament...where the report is tabled and circulated prior to being submitted to the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee...is not inconsistent with Section 36 of the Integrity Commission Act or Standing Order 73-d."
That opinion was re-stated in another letter from the Attorney General.
The Attorney General also said “The House is expected to follow its usual procedures...and subject to legislation and the Standing Orders...the House has control over those procedures.”
He added that the Speaker may table reports before or after submitting them to the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee.
For greater clarity, the Attorney General said Parliament may publish a guide on the tabling papers in Parliament.
There have been months of verbal clashes between the parliamentary opposition and the government side over the release of the Attorney General's opinion - delivered in July last year - on the tabling of reports.
The opposition has been pressing Speaker of the House Juliet Holness to disclose the AG's opinion on the matter.
They had accused her of hiding the opinion from the public as part of a deliberate strategy by the government to hide information contained in the reports of the Auditor General and Integrity Commission.
Watchdog group National Integrity Action had also questioned the rationale behind the withholding of the Attorney General's advice.
The government had insisted that the Speaker was under no obligation to disclose the opinion.
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