13 submit a petition with the National Assembly for the indictment of current or former political office holders for punishable acts under domestic or international treaties; b) the National Assembly is obligated to deliberate with regards to the petition within a period of 90 days, after conducting the investigations it deems necessary, as well as provide the official the opportunity to be heard; and c) if the National Assembly determines that there is sufficient evidence to indict the accused, it shall notify the Prosecutor General, who then has the power to refer the case to the High Court of Justice. Furthermore, Article 5 of the Act provides that “The National Assembly shall not assess the validity of considering the political office holder or the former political office holder concerned as a suspect within the meaning of Article 19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but shall assess only whether his or her prosecution must be deemed to be in the public interest from a political and administrative point of view.”42 38. On November 27, 2001, the Speaker of the National Assembly responded to the Prosecutor General and informed him of the approval of the IPOHA. Moreover, under the new law, he asked that the letter of August 9, 2001 be withdrawn and that the request be resent to the National Assembly.43 39. On January 4, 2002, the Prosecutor General sent another communication to the Speaker of the National Assembly, in which he revoked the request made in August, 2001 44, and, in response to Articles 2, 3, and 6 of the IPOHA, requested that the National Assembly “indict” Mr. Alibux in order for the Prosecutor to continue with prosecution.45 Mr. Alibux was notified of the request on that same date.46 40. Mr. Alibux filed his defense brief before the National Assembly on January 17, 2002, in which he denied that he had committed the punishable acts for which he had been accused of by the Prosecutor General.47 That same day, the National Assembly decided to grant the request of the Prosecutor General to indict Mr. Alibux. The Prosecutor General was informed of this decision on January 22, 2002.48 41. On January 28, 2002, the Prosecutor General ordered the initiation of a preliminary inquiry against Mr. Alibux and three other individuals by an Examining Judge in charge of 42 Article 5: “The National Assembly shall not assess the validity of considering the political office holder or the former political office holder concerned as a suspect within the meaning of Article 19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but shall assess only whether his or her prosecution must be deemed to be in the public interest from a political and administrative point of view” (attachments to the report on the Merits, folios 159 to 163). 43 Cf. Official letter No. 2138 of the President of the National Assembly of November 27, 2001, (case file of proceedings before the Commission, folio 403 and Official letter No. PG 009/02 of the Procurator General of the Republic of January 4, 2002, (Merits, folio 333 and Affidavit of S. Punwasi, February 1, 2013 (Merits, folio 291). It is noteworthy to mention that the date of document Official letter No. 2138 corresponds to an unofficial translation, stating the year as 2002 and not 2001 pursuant to the case file of this case. 44 333). Cf. Official letter No. PG 009/02 of the Procurator General of the Republic on January 4, 2002 (Merits, folio 45 Cf. Official letter No. PG 008/02 of the Procurator General of the Republic on January 4, 2002 (case file of proceedings before the Commission, folios 404, 407 to 409). 46 Cf. Notification from the Speaker of the National Assembly to Mr. Alibux on January 4, 2002 (case file of proceedings before the Commission, folio 404). 47 Cf. Letter of January 17, 2002, from Mr. Alibux to the Committee of the National Assembly that handles matters on the Indictment of Political Office Holders (case file of proceedings before the Commission, folios 413 a 415). 48 Cf. Letter of the Speaker of the National Assembly to the Procurator General of the Republic on January 21, 2002 (case file of proceedings before the Commission, folio 270).