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**Farengeto** · 12-20-2020, 02:12 PM

High Court of the South Pacific
Case Submission

Your Honours,

I, Farengeto, 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.

Nation: Farengeto

Reference Name: Special Election Cut-off Date

Description: Under the Elections Acts, the rules for Cabinet vacancies are described as follows:

Quote:(1) A special election will be held for vacancies arising within the Cabinet, if more than half of the term remains. If less than half of the term remains, or the position is vacant due to nobody running in its election, the Cabinet may appoint a replacement until the next regularly scheduled election.

However, this leaves some room for interpretation. There are two dates that could conceivably be applied here: the dates of the election (the 1st of the month, every four months) or the dates of the official transition (roughly, but not necessarily, around 20 days after that).

Both definitions have their merits. A strict textual leaning would suggest the latter definition. However, it has its own issues, both legal and practical. The date is not clearly set and can drift by a few days even if there are no election issues. And in dates near the threshold, it has the potential to produce special cases where a special election ends less than a calendar month before the next is set to begin - the type of case this wording was specifically added to avoid.

The election interpretation is much more specifically defined, being the 1st of the month, two months before/after the scheduled election start date. It also better reflects some political realities, such as the aforementioned special case and the relative shutdown of government during the election periods.

Question: In the case of Cabinet vacancies, what is the cut-off for when "half of the term remains" applies?

(This post was last modified: 12-20-2020, 02:21 PM by Kris Kringle. Edit Reason: [Chief Justice Edit] Updated the title of the thread with the DN. )

***Kris Kringle*** · 12-20-2020, 02:20 PM

HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2014.HQ] SPECIAL ELECTION CUT-OFF DATE
SUBMISSION 20 DECEMBER 2020

Notice is given that this question has been received by the High Court and has been assigned all the necessary identifying information as follows:

DOCKET NUMBER
2014.HQ

REFERENCE NAME
Special Election Cut-Off Date

QUESTION
In the case of Cabinet vacancies, what is the cut-off for when "half of the term remains" applies?

The petitioner and other interested parties are invited to explain the necessity of a decision on this matter no later than 22 December 2020 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.

2014.HQ.NR | Issued 20 December 2020

Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator.
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Legal Resources:
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***Kris Kringle*** · 12-22-2020, 12:21 PM

HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2014.HQ] SPECIAL ELECTION CUT-OFF DATE
SUBMISSION 20 DECEMBER 2020 | JUSTICIABILITY 22 DECEMBER 2020

Whereas this Court has been asked to exercise the judicial power vested in it by Article VIII of the Charter of the South Pacific, it is resolved as follows:

DETERMINATION OF JUSTICIABILITY
This case is found justiciable and shall be duly considered under all designations assigned by document 2014.HQ.NR.

SUBMISSION OF BRIEFS AMICUS CURIAE
Interested parties may submit briefs amicus curiae to argue their views on the whole or a part of this case no later than 30 December 2020 10:00 UTC, and shall thereafter be liable to answer any questions that the Court may have in relation to their brief.

SUBMISSION OF REQUESTS FOR RECUSAL
Interested parties may request the recusal of the Chief Justice or any Associate Justice no later than 26 December 2020 10:00 UTC. Any such request should provide clear reasons to support the requested recusal and explain the possible negative impact of a failure to recuse.

RETENTION OF RIGHTS
The Court retains the right to consult with, and request further testimony and evidence from, government institutions and other third parties as necessary to adequately exercise its sole right to issue an opinion on this case.

It is so ordered.

2014.HQ.DJ | Issued 22 December 2020

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

**Belschaft** · 01-08-2021, 09:22 AM

HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2014.HQ] Special Election Cut-Off Date

Petitioner: Farengeto

Date of Submission: December 20th, 2020

Date of Justiciability: December 22nd, 2020

Date of Opinion: January 8th, 2021

Legal Question(s): In the case of Cabinet vacancies, what is the cut-off for when "half of the term remains" applies?

Justice Belschaft delivered the opinion, signed also by Justice Kringalia.

Summary of the Opinion: It is the opinion of the Court that in the case of Cabinet vacancies the half point of a term of office falls on the 20th of April, August & December.

Article 4, Clause 3 of the Elections Act clearly states that "The terms for the incoming Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers will begin the week after elections"¹. Article 4, Clause 1 of the Elections Act mandates that elections for the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers begin "on the first of every February, June and October"², and provides a precise legal timeline for the election process;

A six day period for legislators to declare their candidacy.
A seven day campaign period, starting after three days of the declaration period.
A three day voting period, starting once the campaign period ends.

This provides for a complete election period lasting thirteen days, beginning on the 1st of the month and concluding on the 13th.

The Court has chosen to interpret "the week after elections"¹ as meaning seven days after the conclusion of the election period; whilst it would be possible to interpret this to mean the first Monday after the conclusion of the election period, this would provide an irregular and varying period of time between the conclusion of the election period and the beginning of the new term of office; in some circumstances this period could be less than twenty-four hours. As this period is intended for the settling of "any and all election-related disputes"¹ and this process cannot be realistically completed in such a short period of time, the Court has concluded that interpreting this to mean the first Monday after the conclusion of the election period would produce an absurdity.

As such it is the determination of the Court that the term of office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers begins on the 20th of February, June and October; and that accordingly for the purposes of Cabinet vacancies the half point of a term of office falls on the 20th of April, August & December.

It is so ordered.

REFERENCES
[1] Elections Act; Article 4, Clause 3 (2021). The MATT-DUCK Law Archive.
[2] Elections Act; Article 4, Clause 1 (2021). The MATT-DUCK Law Archive.

_{Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making}
^{Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator}

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(This post was last modified: 01-08-2021, 09:23 AM by Belschaft.)