Andrew Holness v Integrity Commission: First court hearing set for Nov 7

The first leg of Prime Minister Andrew Holness' bid to have an Integrity Commission (IC) report on his financial affairs invalidated is set for November 7 in the Supreme Court.

Holness, through his legal team, will try to convince a judge to give him permission to apply for a judicial review of the investigation and its associated final report released by Parliament on September 17. 

A judicial review is used by the courts to assess whether actions taken by a public entity were fair and legal.

Other details on the hearing such as who will be the presiding judge will be announced closer to the date, which is the normal practice of the court.   

Holness applied to the Supreme Court on September 30 for several administrative orders, including the review. 

In the controversial 171-page report, the IC's director of investigation Kevon Stephenson said he could not conclude on the question of illicit enrichment; highlighted unexplained financial discrepancies in Holness' 2021 income filings, and raised questions about tax compliance and transactions of over $470 million involving connected companies and tax compliance.

The IC, which said it could not certify the income declaration, referred the matter to the Financial Investigations Division, citing Holness' failure to provide expense details. 

But Holness has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the report is flawed and unfairly suggests unethical and criminal conduct by him and affiliated firms.

He wants the Supreme Court to terminate all investigations into his financial affairs, invalidate the report, strike down the provisions of the Integrity Commission Act, and declare sections of the Corruption Prevention Act used to probe illicit enrichment as "unconstitutional". 

Holness, his company Imperium Investments Holdings Limited and two other connected entities - Positive Media Solutions Limited and Positive Jamaica Foundation - are seeking the judicial review. 

Their case is being led by King's Counsel Georgia Gibson of the law firm Henlin Gibson Henlin.

The respondents are two senior executives of the commission – Director of Information and Complaints Craig Beresford (first respondent) and the director of investigations (second respondent) – and the commission itself (third respondent).

The firm Hylton Powell is representing the IC and its officials. The lead attorney is King's Counsel Michael Hylton, a former Solicitor General of Jamaica. 

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