Israel Khan says: Appoint tribunal on CJ

Senior Counsel Israel Khan says there is sufficient evidence already in the public domain for the Prime Minister to trigger Section 137 of the Constitution. This deals with the impeachment of a Chief Justice.

Khan said the Prime Minister did not have to wait to be asked to approach the President. He claimed the Government appeared to be waiting for the CJ to resign. “Section 137... does not contemplate that any person authority or entity must request of the Prime Minister to represent to the President that the ‘question of removing the Chief Justice ought to be investigated’ and thus trigger the process of the President appointing a tribunal whose members are selected by the Prime Minister,” he said.

Khan said the president would then have no choice but to appoint a tribunal. “Thus the subterfuge advanced by the Attorney General that no one has requested a Section 137 tribunal as it was done in the case of former Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma…is downright misleading and his inaction in this regard is an abdication of his oath to uphold the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago,” Khan said.

“I dare say that any responsible Attorney General, on the evidence available, will advise his Prime Minister to trigger Section 137 in order to ascertain whether the so-called facts are true or false,” he added.

“The standard of proof required to establish the facts for the removal of CJ Archie must be cogent, compelling, convincing and credible.

He pointed out that at a Section 137 tribunal hearing the CJ would be entitled to retain counsel of his choice to test the veracity of the witnesses called against him. He would also be entitled to give evidence and call witnesses on his behalf. “So why the reluctance to advise the Prime Minister to trigger Section 137,” he asked.

Khan said the failure to do so appeared to be part of a plan to let the CJ “off the hook” without an investigation and instead hold out for his resignation, since Rule II of the Judges”, Rules dictates that he has the right to remain silent if there are reasonable grounds to suspect he committed the criminal offence of misbehaviour in public office.

Khan is also calling for the three most senior judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court to seek an audience with Archie to answer the allegations against him.