UNC wants PM to investigate CJ Archie

OPPOSITION MP for Barataria/San Juan Saddam Hosein wants the prime minister to trigger Section 137 of the Constitution and empower a tribunal to investigate the conduct of Chief Justice Ivor Archie in relation to the resignation as a judge of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

At a press conference on March 26, Hosein who is an attorney, said the Privy Council's ruling that Ayers-Caesar was pressured by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) which is led by Archie into resigning as a High Court judge on the basis that she had left too many part-heard cases in abeyance in the magistrate courts.

The JLSC petitioned Trinidad and Tobago's apex court – the Privy Council – after the Court of Appeal ruled in Ayers-Caesar's favour that she was coerced into resigning and that the prescribed law used for the removal of judges was not used or adhered to.

On March 24, the Privy Council ruled in favour of the ruling of the Appeal Court and vindicated Ayers-Caesar's case against the JLSC.

Hosein said the Privy Council's ruling warranted some kind of formal investigation and action against the CJ.

He said a formal investigation must be launched and this is triggered by the prime minister who has that prerogative and duty in order to determine if the CJ's conduct warrants further punitive action. Hosein said the ball is squarely in PM Stuart Young's court.

The Privy Council's ruling paves the way for Ayers-Caesar to return to the High Court as a judge and also entitles her to her salary and other perks that would have accrued over the eight years she found the JLSC in this case.