Court ruling doesn't remove current DPP - AG

The Attorney General's Chambers has asserted that today's ruling by the Constitutional Court does not mean Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn will have to vacate the office.

The Court ruled that an extension which was granted to her following an amendment to the Constitution last year was unconstitutional.

Folllowing the ruling attorney for the claimants, Michael Hylton, said Llewellyn will have to step down "as of today", barring an appeal.

However, in a media release on Friday afternoon, the AG's Chambers said it does not agree with that interpretation.

"The Claimants have interpreted the orders of the Court as having the effect of removing the incumbent DPP from office. No order has been issued to that effect," it said.

It continued: "The court has confirmed that by Section 2(1) of the amending Act, the age of retirement has been increased from sixty to sixty-five. Further, by striking down Section 2(2), the Court has removed the DPP's option of electing to retire before sixty-five. The DPP attained the age of sixty-three in September 2023 and has made no election to retire."

The AG said given the divergence of interpretation and given that judgment was given for the claimants, the Government will be pursuing an appeal.

In its ruling today, the Constitutional Court explained whether the amendment to the Constitution to raise the retirement age of the DPP from 60 to 65 applied to the current DPP.

"The incumbent had already attained the (pre-amendment) age of retirement and at the time of the amendment was nearing the completion of the period of extension. The provisions of Section 2(2) cannot be lawfully applied to lead to an extension in office by way of an election on the part of the incumbent," the Court stated.

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