Kamla writes Prez on appointment

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wants to know if other judges were considered for appointment to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) as well as Justice Charmaine Pemberton.

She has asked President Paula-Mae Weekes to “disclose the names of the other judges who were considered,” and if there were any complaints to the JLSC from members of the legal profession or litigants about the conduct of Appeal Court judge Charmaine Pemberton or any other nominee.

Persad-Bissessar’s requests to the President were in response to a proposal by Weekes to revoke Pemberton’s appointment to the JLSC to correct an error under section 110(3) (b) of the Constitution, and re-appoint her under the correct provision: section 110(3) (a).

She said she was seeking the information before giving her views on the proposed appointment “in the context of the overriding need for transparency and fairness in the consultation process.”

“I thank you for your kind consideration and await your response so that I can perform my constitutional duty with respect for the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in these troubling times,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“Given the erosion of public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice caused by recent events, the opportunity for the appointment of a new member of the JLSC is one that should be carefully considered.

“The process is one that must withstand public scrutiny and inspire public confidence,” Persad-Bissessar told the President.

Weekes wrote to the Leader of the Opposition this week with her proposal, seeking her views, as directed by the Constitution, on the appointment of members to the JLSC.

Weekes proposed, to correct the oversight, and as Pemberton’s original instrument of appointment could not be rectified, to revoke the judge’s appointment and reappoint her under the correct section for three years, the minimum period provided by section 126(3)(1) of the Constitution.

The “error” in Pemberton’s appointment was discovered after UNC activist Devant Maharaj, through his attorney Gerald Ramdeen, wrote to Weekes. She replied to Maharaj last week, explaining what the error was and said it would be corrected at the earliest opportunity.

She said, “While the relevant instrument of appointment indeed indicated that the Honourable Justice had been appointed, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 110 of the Constitution, the letters of consultation to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition dated 21st July, 2017, and which preceded the appointment, referred to section 110 (3) (a).”

In a second letter, sent on Friday, Ramdeen asked the President to reconsider Pemberton’s appointment, suggesting the “error” could not be corrected.