Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness plans to appeal the decision of the Supreme Court in relation to the applications brought by him and three connected companies against the Integrity Commission.
The Prime Minister's legal team said the Supreme Court also ordered a stay of the proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal.
The attorneys highlighted that, in her ruling on Thursday, Justice Althea Jarrett granted Dr Holness's application to order the Integrity Commission to provide documents prepared by three investigators, including Stephanie Fiddler-Blake, which are relevant to the investigation.
In this regard, the Court ordered the Integrity Commission to search for and disclose those documents, if they exist.
Dr Holness also sought disclosure of certain documents that had been redacted or obliterated in the IC's earlier disclosures, as well as the forensic report and other material not previously disclosed.
The attorneys say, in response to a previous written request for disclosure and the subsequent application, prior to the ruling, the Integrity Commission and the other defendants disclosed the majority of documents requested.
The court also granted an application to strike out portions of the Integrity Commission's Fixed Date Claim Form, removing the words 'purported' and 'and/or 3rd Defendant'.
But the Court refused an application by Dr Holness for disclosure of further unredacted documents beyond those already provided.
The Court also denied the Claimants' application to strike out aspects of the IC's affidavit based on them being irrelevant and an abuse of process because they deal with declarations already certified up to 2020.
IC Speaks
The Integrity Commission, in its own response, explained that the judge dismissed Dr Holness' application to obtain unredacted documents as it was accepted that they included information on public officials and other business which did not relate to the claim and were therefore irrelevant.
The anti-corruption body said the Judge also expressly refused the application for disclosure of the resignation of one of the investigators on the basis that it was irrelevant.
It noted that, with the court granting Dr Holness leave to appeal the ruling, it is unlikely that the trial of the claim, which was scheduled for October, will proceed on that schedule.
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