Standing Orders of Parliament do not permit the issuing of press statements via lawyers while impeachment proceedings are pending, say several lawyers including President’s Counsel, and parliamentarians who are lawyers.

They are of the opinion that the Chief Justice’s issuance of a denial of financial impropriety through the media at this point in time is smacking of contempt for procedure and parliamentary process.

The reasoning for this is that if the Select Committee process is held in camera, it of course follows that there should not be any pronouncements to the media as what has to be held in camera cannot obviously be pre-empted by a media circus involving the very persons who are actors in the Select Committee process.

Earlier a group or President’s Counsel made a statement in Hulftsdorph saying that parliamentary Standing Orders do not permit issuing statements to the media on any of the issues that are to be raised in Select Committee proceedings on impeachment.