A legal battle has been launched between a teacher and the Ministry of Education.Special needs teacher Claudia DeSilva accuses the Ministry of “unfair, unlawful and completely biased actions” after she was suspended for “harmonious reasons” pending an arbitration case involving principal Dena Butterfield-Lister.The tribunal, which is being held at the Department of Labour and Training, started yesterday and is expected to continue for a couple of days.The Royal Gazette had hoped to report on the case but arbitrator Marc Telemaque ruled that no reporting of the proceedings would be permitted. We have been told we are only allowed to report on the ruling of the case.Mr Telemaque said he agreed with the freedom of the press, but he said he was excluding the press because “two professionals and their reputations are at stake.”The Royal Gazette reported last month that lawyer Juliana Snelling, who is representing Mrs DeSilva, claims Dr Lister is not qualified for her post and should have been kept away from the school instead.Ms Snelling states the Ministry’s lawyer Victoria Pearman has not addressed a series of complaints regarding Mrs DeSilva’s suspension.The press has the legislative right to be present at arbitration hearings under the Labour Relations Act, unless both parties consent to the exclusion.Mr Telemaque said: “Mrs Snelling for the grievant submits that the press should not be excluded from these proceedings and reporting thereupon. She refers to the Labour Relations Act 1975 and the cautions and safeguards therein.“Ms Pearman for the respondent submits that with the professional reputations of many and the nature of the allegations made, out of an abundance of caution, the press should not be permitted to report on the daily ‘ebb and flow’ of the proceedings; especially where the rules of evidence are not so strict.“I support freedom of the press and in the ordinary course would have no issue in permitting the reporting.“Two professionals and their reputations are at stake and I am concerned that a system already encountering challenges not be further tested by these proceedings and any issue of confidence in the system they may cause.”