THE appellate court on Thursday reserved judgement in the appeal brought by the People’s National Party Ian Hayles against a Supreme Court decision which allows for a petition to have him disqualified from Gordon House on account of his alleged allegiance to the United States.

“We will definitely give our decision as early as possible,” said Court of Appeal President Justice Seymour Panton.

The appeal, which started on Wednesday, was set in train on December 4 last year when Justice Donald McIntosh refused Hayles’ application to dismiss a motion seeking his disqualification from the House of Representatives.

The motion was brought by Earl Hamilton, the losing Labour party candidate in the 2007 general elections.

Hamilton is contending that Hayles — the sitting member of Parliament for the West Hanover constituency — was the holder of US citizenship on nomination day and is not qualified for election, as outlined in the Constitution.

Hayles has, however, denied the allegations and is asking the court to reverse McIntosh’s decision. In addition, Hayle’s legal team is contending that Hamilton’s petition is out of time, as it was not filed within the 21 days after the return of a candidate, as outlined by the Election Petition Act.

However, Hamilton’s legal team argued that the Election Petition Act is superseded by the Constitution.

Following Thursday’s adjournment, Hayles told the Observer that he had renounced his US citizenship before nomination day in August 2007.

“I was even on platform telling the people about the sacrifice of giving up my US citizenship to serve,” Hayles said.

“What they are doing now is a distraction and serves no useful purpose in going forward. For the Jamaica Labour Party to be going after me after I have served two years, and knowing that I have renounced my US citizenship, it does not serve the business of the country.