Lawyers to sue PM

LAWYERS yesterday voted for the Law Association to go ahead with judicial review proceedings against the Prime Minister, challenging his refusal to start impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Ivor Archie.

Sources said there were 235 members in attendance at the three locations, and of the 230 ballots cast, 163 voted in favour of legal action being taken against Dr Rowley.

There were 66 votes against proceeding with a judicial review claim, while there was one spoilt vote.

Lawyers met at three locations – the auditorium of the Government Campus Plaza in Port of Spain, the rooftop of a law firm in San Fernando and at the Triangle Building in Tobago – to vote on the sole issue of whether to start judicial review proceedings against the prime minister.
Earlier in the day, the association’s president, Douglas Mendes, SC, made a personal plea to attorneys in a statement, reminding them of the meeting and the topic to be discussed.

Mendes, in his earlier statement to members, told them, “I need say very little to impress upon you the importance of this decision, one way or the other.

“Apart from the significant commitment in human and financial resources which this would entail, important rule of law and accountability issues are at stake.

“It is accordingly crucial that there is a large turnout of the membership so that your council may be confident that the voice of the entire membership is heard, one way or the other,” he said, as he urged members to turn out in their numbers.

In July, Dr Rowley said he did not initiate impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice after receiving legal advice, which said he should not take the association’s advice to invoke section 137 proceedings to have Archie impeached for allegations against him.

He said the advice guided him on deciding there were insufficient grounds to warrant him to make a representation to the President for Archie’s removal and for a tribunal to be set up to investigate the series of allegations which arose in 2017.

The Prime Minister, in refusing the association’s request to trigger section 137, addressed each of the complaints against Archie: judicial security arrangements; alleged WhatsApp communication with the CJ’s alleged friend Dillian Johnson on judges’ security; the issue of a police escort for Justice Frank Seepersad; and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) complaints.

The association made its request in December after members voted to send its investigative report to Rowley. This followed the ruling of the Privy Council which dismissed the Chief Justice’s complaints of the association’s investigations of him.