Judgment No. CCZ 8/14 5
Constitutional Court Application No. CCZ 45/14
3.
Consequently it is ordered that the judgment of the Supreme Court be
set aside and the following be substituted:
‘The appeal is dismissed with costs’.
4.
The respondent shall pay the costs of this appeal.”
Attempts to evict Autoband on the strength of the Supreme Court order were
resisted by Autoband on the ground that Autoband had noted an appeal to the Constitutional
Court.
Autoband contended that the appeal to the Constitutional Court had the effect of
suspending the operation of the Supreme Court order. Given this situation, the Sheriff was at
a loss on how to proceed.
In an effort to find a way forward, Streamsleigh filed the present Chamber
application. In this Chamber application Streamsleigh contends that the notice of appeal is
void and of no effect.
Streamsleigh further argues that because the notice of appeal is a
nullity, there is therefore no appeal before the Constitutional Court and the eviction of
Autoband should proceed.
Autoband, on the other hand, contends that the appeal is valid.
The respective stances of the parties are aptly captured in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Autoband’s
heads of argument, which read as follows:
“1.
2.
The present application is one for:
1.1
A declaration that the notice of appeal filed by the respondent
in case number CCZ 43/2014 does not raise a constitutional
question and is consequently void, and
1.2
An order directing that a writ of execution, purporting to have
been issued out of the Supreme Court (which does not issue
writs) by the Registrar of the High Court, be carried into
execution.
The relief sought is incompetent for several reasons:
2.1
A single Judge of the Constitutional Court, sitting alone in
Chambers, has no jurisdiction to determine whether a matter
raises a constitutional question or is connected to a