| Legal Question (interpret the meaning and application of a law) Effects of Resignations |
HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
CASE SUBMISSION I, Kris Kringle, respectfully submit the following case for consideration by the High Court. I hereby state that the information within this submission is true to the best of my knowledge, and that there is no malicious intent or vexatious nature to it. I further promise to make myself available to any future questions or request from the Court in order to ensure that this case is fairly considered. REFERENCE NAME Effects of Resignations ARGUMENT On 06 Mar 2022, Prime Minister HumanSanity announced their intent to resign "effective upon the lawful selection of [a] successor". Following a cursory review of the law, I have taken note of the following:
I see a potential complication with the second interpretation in the above paragraph in that it could produce confusion, should a resigning official decide to withdraw their announced resignation once a special election has already started. I would argue that, absent any further clarity within the law, and in the interest of avoiding any absurdities, resignations may be announced at any time, but any processes derived from them can only begin once they have actually occurred. To that effect, for example, an Election Commissioner would only begin a special election once an official actually resigned, given that this would offer definitive proof of the vacancy, rather than merely a possibility that one may occur. REQUEST When do resignations take effect for the purposes of Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act, and of any other laws that depend on the occurrence of a vacancy? Submitted to the High Court of the South Pacific Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
Your Honours,
I respectfully ask that a Notice of Reception be posted so that the process for the consideration of this case may begin. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
Your Honours,
It has been two days since I submitted this legal question. I must respectfully insist that it be given the attention due under the Judicial Act and the Standards for Case Management. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC [2203.HQ] EFFECTS OF RESIGNATIONS SUBMISSION 06 MAR 2022 Notice is given that this submission has been received by the High Court and has been assigned all the necessary identifying information as follows: DOCKET NUMBER 2203.HQ REFERENCE NAME Effects of Resignations QUESTION When do resignations take effect for the purposes of Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act, and of any other laws that depend on the occurrence of a vacancy? The petitioner and other interested parties are invited to explain the necessity of a decision on this matter no later than 11 Mar 2022 10:00 UTC, but the Court reserves the right to make a determination before then. Briefs Amicus Curiae on the preferred eventual outcome of this case are not required at this time. 2203.HQ.NR | Issued 09 Mar 2022
-Griffindor/Ebonhand
-Current Roles/Positions -Legislator 2/24/20- -High Court Justice 6/7/20- -South Pacific Coral Guard 11/17/20- -Minister of Engagement 6/17/22- -Past Roles/Positions -Legislator 7/3/16-4/10/18 -Secretary of State 4/3/20-2/24/21 -Chair of the APC 9/24/16-5/31/17 -Vice-Chair of the APC 6/1/17-4/10/18 -Local Council Member 7/1/17-11/17/17 -Citizen 5/2012-12/2014 and 2/26/16-7/3/2016
Your Honours,
The admission of this case is important because thus far there is no clear law, and at most an ambiguously precedential legal interpretation, on the effect of resignations, whether their effect is immediate or if they can be tendered with delayed effect, and how the Election Commissioner should respond to such scenarios for the purposes of holding special elections. The only case that directly deals with such matters is [1303.RQ] Cabinet Resignations, whose value as precedent is ambiguous due to the fact that the law subject to its interpretation has changed in the intervening years. For the reasons exposed here and in my original submission, I respectfully ask that this case be deemed justiciable. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
-Griffindor/Ebonhand
-Current Roles/Positions -Legislator 2/24/20- -High Court Justice 6/7/20- -South Pacific Coral Guard 11/17/20- -Minister of Engagement 6/17/22- -Past Roles/Positions -Legislator 7/3/16-4/10/18 -Secretary of State 4/3/20-2/24/21 -Chair of the APC 9/24/16-5/31/17 -Vice-Chair of the APC 6/1/17-4/10/18 -Local Council Member 7/1/17-11/17/17 -Citizen 5/2012-12/2014 and 2/26/16-7/3/2016
HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC [2203.HQ] EFFECTS OF RESIGNATIONS SUBMISSION 07 MAR 2022 | JUSTICIABILITY 12 MAR 2022 | OPINION 16 APR 2022 QUESTION When do resignations take effect for the purposes of Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act, and of any other laws that depend on the occurrence of a vacancy? SUMMARY OF THE OPINION It is the opinion of the Court that under current law, resignations must have immediate effectiveness or a set time of effectiveness in the future. A resignation that has indefinite effectiveness is not valid since the position will not be vacant for a special election to be triggered. A special election can only be lawfully triggered and begun when an office is vacant, which is what triggers an election under Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act. JUSTICE GRIFFINDOR DELIVERED THE OPINION, SIGNED ALSO BY JUSTICE BELSCHAFT. The Court has been asked to determine when a resignation is deemed effective. The question arose after former Prime Minister HumanSanity resigned "effective upon the lawful selection of [their] successor"[1]. Election Commissioner Kris Kringle noted the potentially ambiguous double meaning of the resignation note, which could imply that the resignation can be rescinded before the effective date ("upon the ... selection of [their] successor")[2]. HumanSanity subsequently amended their resignation letter to become effective immediately so as to not tie up their position within the Cabinet under potential High Court litigation. The Court will determine when a resignation becomes effective by analyzing relevant past precedent and reviewing the language of current laws. Starting first with analyzing the Elections Act, Article 6, Section 1 says that "a special election [is to] be held for vacancies arising within the Cabinet, if at least half of the term remains."[3]. Other than regularly scheduled elections, special elections are the only other type of election within the South Pacific, which, under Article 6, Section 1 of the aforementioned Elections Act can only be triggered when a vacancy is created. Former Prime Minister HumanSanity’s original resignation letter, which stated that they would resign after the election of their successor, could not work under current law since their office would never be vacant, which is what would trigger the special election. To be put more clearly, under current law, only resignation letters that have an immediate effect, or an effect within a finite set of time (e.g. at noon tomorrow UTC, 48 hours from now, next Friday, etc.), can lawfully trigger a special election since the position will eventually become vacant. Once the resignation is official, and the office vacated, then the special election process under Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act can begin. It is important to note that until a resignation is official, which means the position becomes vacant, the resignation letter is actually a notice of an intent to resign, and could be retracted. However, once the effective time stated in the intent to resign has passed, a retraction is no longer legally possible, as the special election process would have legally begun. If a special election was to begin prior to the resignation notice taking effect (the office becoming vacant), then the incumbent official could technically rescind the resignation notice and the special election would necessarily be forced to end without an outcome. Looking next at the second part of the legal question regarding other laws that require the occurrence of a vacancy, the Court notes that all other references to a vacancy within the law provide for an appointment, rather than an election to the vacant position. Interestingly, the law does not specify how a position can become vacant. Under past versions of the Elections Act, what constituted a vacancy was clearly defined. During the days of the former Ministry of Justice, the case [1303.RQ] Cabinet Resignations had been decided. The opinion in [1313.RQ] noted that a resignation took an immediate effect due to a 72-hour requirement to begin a special election[4]. Similarly, a resignation could not be retracted since the election could not be canceled once started. Under current law, a special election is not triggered by a resignation as it was when [1313.RQ] was decided, but by a vacancy, which can take place at any time the intent to resign notice says it will happen, as long as it follows the rationale previously established in this opinion. As the Court reaches the end of its opinion, it will summarize the opinion once more. Under current law, resignations must have immediate effectiveness or a set time in the future. A resignation that has indefinite effectiveness (e.g. upon the selection of a successor) is not valid since the position will not be vacant in order for a special election to begin. A special election can only be lawfully triggered and begun when an office is vacant, which is what triggers an election under Article 6, Section 1 of the Elections Act. It is so ordered.
FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES [1] Former Prime Minister HumanSanity’s resignation notice; Retrieved from: https://tspforums.xyz/thread-10262-post-...#pid227835 [2] Election Commissioner Kris Kringle’s interpretation of how to proceed; Retrieved from: https://tspforums.xyz/thread-10266-post-...#pid227851 [3] Elections Act; Article 6, Section 1 (2021) The MATT-DUCK Law Archive [4] [1303.RQ] Cabinet Resignations; Retrieved from: Online Rulings Consultation System: https://archive.tspforums.xyz/showthread...#pid118880 2203.HQ.O | Issued 16 Apr 2022
-Griffindor/Ebonhand
-Current Roles/Positions -Legislator 2/24/20- -High Court Justice 6/7/20- -South Pacific Coral Guard 11/17/20- -Minister of Engagement 6/17/22- -Past Roles/Positions -Legislator 7/3/16-4/10/18 -Secretary of State 4/3/20-2/24/21 -Chair of the APC 9/24/16-5/31/17 -Vice-Chair of the APC 6/1/17-4/10/18 -Local Council Member 7/1/17-11/17/17 -Citizen 5/2012-12/2014 and 2/26/16-7/3/2016 |
![[-]](https://tspforums.xyz/images/sidr/blue/collapse.png)
| Users browsing this thread: |
| 1 Guest(s) |