Lawyers for St Peter MP Asot Michael has threatened legal action against Speaker of the House, Sir Gerald Watt in what they call an unlawful move to suspend the parliamentarian for three consecutive sittings.
Last week Thursday, MP Michael was suspended from the House of Representatives after a contentious moment between the Speaker and the MP.
Yesterday afternoon, the law firm representing MP Asot Michael, Marshall and Company issued a formal response to the Speaker, arguing that the House had no power to make standing orders providing for the suspension of a member, calling those provisions unconstitutional.
The attorneys further argue that even if the rules were lawful, the suspension was not reasonably required for the regulation of affairs of the House and that suspension was not performed, in line with the mandatory procedures outlined in Standing Orders section 50.7
The law firm called for the Speaker to not take steps to exclude their client from any proceedings of the House and to confirm such in writing by Thursday May 25.
If this is not done, the lawyers have said that they will have no choice but to take legal action against the Speaker.
Section 49 and 50 of the Standing Orders outlines the rules for discipline of any member by the Speaker of the House.