Lawyers considering petitioning Rowley on Archie

A few lawyers are considering petitioning the prime minister to invoke impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Ivor Archie so that a tribunal can be established to look into his conduct in office.

Sources said the lawyers hope to get the support of their colleagues to call for a special meeting of the Law Association to pass a motion to advance the petition.

The motion will be similar to the June 1 motion which resulted in a no-confidence vote against Archie being passed.

But even as the lawyers seek their colleagues’ approval, sources said the council of the Law Association met in an emergency session on Wednesday night but came to no firm agreement on whether to take the issue to its membership.

Sources also said the association was considering setting up a fact-finding team to report to the council on whether Section 137 of the Constitution should be invoked. This section deals with the process of setting up a tribunal to investigate a judge’s conduct.

Last month the association called on Archie to issue a public statement to address allegations contained in newspaper reports.

Also seeking answers were High Court judge Carol Gobin, Senior Counsel Martin Daly and former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas.

Archie has declined to meet with his judges and has not publicly addressed the newspaper’s allegations.

The government is also adamant that it will not get involved in the latest issue involving Archie.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has said, despite the reports, there was nothing which should occupy the executive’s attention at this time.

Archie has been accused of attempting to persuade judges to change their state-provided security in favour of a private company where one of his friends works.