Tribunal of Inquiry ends hearing in CJ Twomey’s alleged misconduct case |03 August 2018

The Tribunal of Inquiry appointed to inquire into several complaints of alleged misconduct against Chief Justice Dr Mathilda Twomey completed its hearing yesterday and will give the final report in four to six weeks’ time.

Appointed under Article 134(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles in April 2018, the tribunal listened to several witnesses, including CJ Twomey and the complainant Judge Durai Karunakaran.

The complaints were lodged by Judge Karunakaran to the Constitutional Appointment Authority (CAA).

These include abuse of authority of office, destruction of evidence, making public the report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the conduct of Judge Karunakaran.

At yesterday’s session, the tribunal listened again to Judge Karunakaran for clarification regarding the format in which he presents his judgments and also on when he signs them before submitting.

Due to some inconsistencies in Judge Karunakaran’s evidence, Judge Michael Adams who was presiding the sessions gave him several breaks throughout yesterday’s session to carefully re-think about his final answers regarding whether the judgment in question was signed before, or after he received his suspension letter.

He however stood his ground and confirmed that it was signed after his suspension, an answer which contradicts previous evidence submitted.

Following the answers, Judge Adams decided to end the hearing to the matter and gave a period of four to six weeks for the final reports.

Both parties were unwilling to make any comments following yesterday’s hearing and they will both have the right to responsive submissions.