have both taken up their seats in Parliament and are in the House and therefore there is
no live issue to be tried by the courts.
[93]
The issue in the case at bar is essentially whether the Claimants seats were properly
vacant and given the factual circumstance that the seats are no longer vacant does this
render the case moot and therefore should the court decline to deal with the issue or is
there a collateral issues or issue of great public importance that would justify the court
hearing this matter?
[94]
The question to be answered is, “is there a live controversy existing which affects the
rights of the Claimants herein? Counsel for the Claimants submits that the seats are no
longer vacant but in fact occupied by the Claimants and in the circumstances the dispute
has disappeared and the issue has become academic, further that this is not a situation
where the court could or should exercise its discretion to continue hearing the case, that
there is no collateral issue or issues of great public importance that would justify the Court
in expending scarce judicial resources to hear these Claims.
[95]
Counsel submitted that it is a general rule that the Court will decline to hear a case where
the decision of the Court will hot have the effect of resolving some controversy which
affects or may affect the rights of the party. Further, that is, if the decision of the court will
have no practical effect on such rights the court will decline to decide the case. Counsel
relied on the statement of Lord Justice-Clerk in the Macnaughton Case28 where he said:
“Our courts have consistently acted on the view that it is their
function in the ordinary run of contentious litigation to decide
only live, practical questions, and that they have no concern
with hypothetical, premature or academic question, nor do
they exist to advise litigants as to the policy which they should
adopt in the ordering of their affairs. The courts are neither a
debating club nor and advisory bureau.”
28
Macnaughton –v‐ Macnaughton’s Trustees (1953) SC 387
26