JUSTICE David Ashton-Lewis, Commissioner of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the controversial appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC commissioner, has until December 3 to notify the High Court of his position in the ongoing proceedings.
This followed a statement from Solicitor-General Ropate Green, who appeared for the COI and the Attorney-General before Justice Dane Tuiqereqere last week, confirming he had instructions only from those two parties and had not yet received any from Justice Ashton-Lewis.
Justice Ashton-Lewis, who was served with an affidavit of service on October 22 at an address on the Gold Coast, was given 42 days, which expire next month, to file his response.
However, principal lawyer Isireli Fa of FA & Company, representing the Judicial Services Commission, requested that the matter proceed to a hearing as soon as possible, noting that Justice Ashton-Lewis was “really nominal” since he was acting under the COI.
Justice Tuiqereqere informed the parties that the registry had received correspondence from Sherani & Co, indicating that Justice Ashton-Lewis wished to play an active role in the proceedings.
However, he noted that no formal application had yet been filed on Justice Ashton-Lewis’s behalf.
In the substantive matter, the JSC has filed an application for leave to apply for judicial review of the COI report, seeking an order to quash the findings and recommendations of the inquiry, along with other related declarations.
The matter will be recalled on November 28 to check the status of Justice Ashton-Lewis’s involvement and to hear from counsel on their readiness to proceed with the hearing set for December 12.
Justice Tuiqereqere will preside over the application, along with four prominent figures named in the COI report, who have also filed separate applications for leave to apply for judicial review.
