Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

Two former directors of the collapsed Dyoll Insurance Company Ltd., who are charged with breaches of the Insurance Act, have filed a constitutional motion in the Supreme Court seeking to have the charges dropped.

Former director and chief executive officer, 47-year-old Mark Thwaites, and former chairman James Morrison are contending that the section of the Financial Services Commission Act under which they are charged was not in effect at the time of the alleged offences.

Catherine Parke-Thwaites, wife of Mark Thwaites, who is also an accused, is also challenging the act.

retroactive charges

They will be asking the Constitutional Court to rule that, under the Constitution, a law cannot be passed to make criminal charges retroactive.

The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General are the respondents.

The three accused appeared in the Corporate Area Criminal Court Thursday but Resident Magistrate Lorraine Smith put off the case to June 21 to await the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

It is the claimant's contention that the Finance Minister had no power to bring into operation the provisions of the Financial Services Commission Act of 2001 to relate in 2005 to the insurance industry.

They are seeking a declaration that the provisions of the Financial Services Commission (Insurance Services) Validation and Indemnity Act, which was brought into operation in August 2006 are contrary to the Constitution and are therefore unconstitutional, null and void.

It is being alleged that they failed to provide information to the Financial Services Commission, the regulatory body for insurance companies and financial institutions.

Thwaites, who is being represented by Winston Spaulding, Q.C., and attorney-at-law Garth McBean, is also accused of recklessly supplying false information under the provisions of the act. Further allegations are that he also failed to comply with directives that were given on December 17, 2004, by the FSC.

Reports are that Dyoll's problems began in 2004 following a deluge of claims arising from property damage as a result of Hurricane Ivan that September.