Holness loses Senate seat appeal

Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Holness, has failed in his attempt to overturn a ruling by the Constitutional Court which ruled that he breached the Constitution in the removal of two senators in 2013.

Holness challenged the ruling that he was wrong when he used undated, pre-signed resignation letters to remove Dr Christopher Tufton and Arthur Williams from the Senate in November 2013.

The Constitutional Court said Holness' actions were unlawful, contrary to public policy and in breach of the Constitution.

It had also declared null and void the resignations of Williams, who took the issue to court, and his colleague Tufton.

Lawyers for Holness had argued in the Appeals Court that Williams used the wrong procedure to initiate the court action against the opposition leader.

However, one of the respondents in the appeal, the Attorney General's department said it was surprised that an argument about procedure was being used.

Holness had initially said the Constitutional Court had erred on matters of law and fact.

The appeal was fast-tracked and heard over two days.