Attorneys call for PSC members, AG to resign over CoP fiasco

ATTORNEY Dave Persad is calling on Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to resign for the advice he gave on the acting appointment of the Commissioner of Police.

In a letter on Friday, Persad said Al-Rawi boasted of the legal notice 183, having drafted it, which allowed Gary Griffith’s appointment as acting commissioner when his contract came to an end on August 17.

“And thereafter, began the swift and spectacular collapse of the commission,” Persad said.

He said it was only after he and former attorney general Anand Ramlogan,SC, sent pre-action letters and the issue reached the court, that the government “sobered up” and sought the advice of retired judge, Justice Rolston Nelson, SC, who confirmed the acting appointment was illegal and unconstitutional.

He said the AG, as the principal legal advisor to the Government, should be more measured and circumspect in his responses to legal matters of national interest and importance.

“In another country, with a more politically conscious population and a government with a leader that adheres to good governance and integrity in public affairs, the Hon. Attorney General would have had to demit office, one way or the other.”

He said there appeared to be a “calculated, orchestrated and deliberate attempt to customise” the selection of a commissioner. This has been stoutly denied by the Prime Minister.

Persad also said service commissioners are not a law unto themselves and can be held accountable.

Meanwhile, Senior Counsel Israel Khan is calling on three former attorneys general to publicly say if the PSC acted outside its jurisdiction to appoint retired judge, Justice Stanley John to investigate the firearm user’s licences process. He is also calling on the other members of the PSC to resign.