By Hilaire Bule
Copyright dailypost
The Supreme Court of Port Vila granted the application for a Stay Order for the Member of Parliament (MP) of Epi Constituency, Seoule Simeon, yesterday.
Justice Edwin Goldsbrough said in his verdict that the application is granted and a stay of the decision of the Supreme Court of 27 August 2025 is ordered pending the hearing of the Appeal Court.
Justice Goldsbrough said the Stay Order is conditional on the appeal being prosecuted with due diligence and speed and will automatically expire on 3 November 2025.
He said that on 3 November, the applicant will surrender himself to the custody of the Appeal Court for the hearing of his appeal unless his order is amended before that date.
“As it is the balance of convenience, it would, in my view, be wrong for the applicant to be required to serve all or part of his sentence where no other risk is presented. This situation may be different if the applicant were said to be a flight risk or if another substantial risk to the integrity of the criminal process was put forward. That is not the case here,” Justice Goldsbrough said.
Mr. Simeon is now released since yesterday following his urgent application on Monday this week to stay his sentence until the Court of Appeal on 3 November.
MP Simeon welcomed the court decision yesterday, saying that he is still MP for Epi until the decision of the Appeal Court in November.
“Even though they put me in the High Risk facility, I am still getting my salary as a Member of Parliament,” MP Simeon told Daily Post outside the courthouse.
His lawyer, Willie Daniel, told Daily Post that the application of his client is the first-ever application where a person is already in jail and made an application for a stay order.
“Mr. Simeon’s case is now a precedent,” he said.
Yesterday, after the decision of Justice Goldsbrough, MP Simeon went to the High Risk facility to collect his belongings and returned home awaiting his appeal.
He is likely to attend the parliament session during the Extraordinary session scheduled at the end of October 2025.
