Archie to Gobin: 'DO YOUR DUTY'

CHIEF Justice Ivor Archie has told Justice Carol Gobin that as a judge of the High Court, she should “expect to be assigned to adjudicate anywhere.”

“I can’t ask you to be happy about going to Tobago if it is something that you are not happy about, but I do ask you to note it and to understand that it is your duty as a judge,” Archie told the judge in an e-mailed reply to her yesterday.

Archie’s e-mail was sent to the judge at 6.13 am and copied to all judges; a practice Archie said he did not like and wanted it to end, as it was “not good for the organisation.”

Last Friday, Gobin wrote to Archie seeking a meeting with him to discuss his transfer of her to Tobago for the roll-out of the Family Court there. She told him the move was being “unfairly imposed without prior notice or consultation as per basic professional courtesy,” especially since she had little experience in family law, and neither did she ever sit as a judge in the Family Court Pilot Project, nor had she been one of the judges selected to supplement the ranks of that court.

She also said the “unilateral and arbitrary assignment” was taking place in the context of their “well documented past differences” and would appear, to any dispassionate and reasonably informed bystander, “to be tantamount to the imposition of a sanction.”

YOU ARE

QUALIFIED

Archie told Gobin it was his duty as Chief Justice to assign judges for the most efficient discharge of the work of the Judiciary.

“And, I have genuinely done so,” he said, adding that he has considered the full list of judges in the civil jurisdiction who may be assigned to the Family Court, and her background of strong family practice at the Bar placed her in the position of being “an eminently suitable judge to start the family court in Tobago.”

“It has always been the responsibility and duty of the Chief Justice to assign judges. It is this duty that I have carried out,” Archie said, adding that he was unaware of any settled practice of consultation before assignment to any particular court. “As a High Court judge, I was often assigned without prior consultation and understood that my duty to the Judiciary, which I accepted on appointment, was to work wherever I was assigned,” he said. He also went on to say, “It is no secret that I have not been your favourite person, or the person you would prefer to be Chief Justice during your tenure as a judge, but that does not mean that I am in any way entitled to ignore you or your talent and experience as a judge.

“Nor can I permit your assumption of a combative or belligerent stance to insulate you from the requirement to comply with a lawful and rational directive. I assure you that I take my responsibility seriously and honestly.”

Archie said in doing his work, which included assigning judges, he did not take into account Gobin’s view of him.

“As a matter of fact it does not trouble me at all,” he said, adding, “I take into account only that you are an experienced judge and in this instance, one with a strong family law background. I assess you, in so far as your judicial work is concerned, as having the right experience, training and temperament to sit as a family court judge, especially in this pioneering role in Tobago.”

CJ NONPLUSSED

He said Tobago was entitled to the same level of service as Trinidad and he was sure “that our Tobagonian stakeholders were disappointed to hear that you consider the opportunity to spearhead this important initiative to be a ‘sanction.’

“I am more than a little nonplussed at your apparent complaint about a lack of consultation with you as I clearly recall that some time ago when I reached out to invite your participation in a judiciary committee you declined somewhat ungraciously,” he said.

Archie also said it was not prudent for him to select a criminal court judge for the assignment.

He added, “Having regard to the nature and method of your communications with me over the last years, I did anticipate that you may have reacted badly.

“For this reason, I too would have preferred to avoid any distastefulness which may have been occasioned by my having to choose you for this assignment. However, my duty comes first and despite the possibility of attracting your ire, I did my duty fairly without bias, fear or favour, affection or ill-will.” In his e-mailed response, Archie also told Gobin while he noted her concerns, he did not consider them insurmountable. She had mentioned family considerations and the effect relocation can have on a judge, as well as her existing civil court docket.

But, Archie said, he fully expected arrangements can be made for her to arrange her time and travel back to Trinidad to deal with her part-heard civil cases. He also told her suitable accommodation will be provided for her and her spouse, who was “most welcome” to join her.

“Happily, unlike some of your colleagues, you have no minor children whose schooling and social connections would be disrupted by a move to Tobago, at least so far as I am aware,” Archie wrote.