Commit to these issues, PNM, UNC

ISRAEL B RAJAH-KHAN SC

THE CRIMINAL Bar Association calls on the PNM and UNC to include in their manifestos that if their party wins the general election and thus forms the government, the following will be done via proposed bills in Parliament: the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will replace the Privy Council (PC) as TT's apex court; the prerogative of granting lawyers silk; and any section 137 investigation of the Chief Justice will both reside with the President.

The CCJ

At his farewell speech as prime minister on March 16 at Woodford Square, Dr Keith Rowley brought to the forefront the controversial topic of the abolition of the Privy Council and its replacement with the CCJ.

In his long overbearing diatribe while berating the British government for imposing visa restrictions on Trinidadians/Tobagonians out of the blue and completely out of context of his speech, he blurted out that TT should rid itself of the Privy Council and our final court of appeal should reside with the CCJ.

The former prime minister must know that under the doctrine of the separation of powers the judiciary, and this includes the PC, has absolutely no say or input in the British government’s policy of visa restrictions. Thus, his outburst of getting rid of the Privy Council has more to do with its severe criticism and reprimand of his then finance minister Colm Imbert for setting up a tribunal to investigate our Auditor General, who dared to question a $2.6 billion misrepresentation and possible wrongdoing by his government with our money. The Privy Council wanted to know why Imbert did not include himself to be investigated.

Hearing at the

Privy Council

Lady Simler to Douglas Mendez SC, who represented Imbert: “Why didn’t the terms of reference say please investigate the minister’s behaviour?”

Mendez: “That is a good point.”

Lady Simler: “I am interested to know to what extent the minister’s conduct is going to be investigated, because if it was genuinely an even-handed investigation that was not designed to deflect blame away from the minister and on to the Auditor General…it would be even-handed to say investigate the actions of the minister and investigate the actions of the Auditor General…curiously, the minister is not singled out, but the Auditor General is.”

The Privy Council ruled in favour of the Auditor General and the costs imposed on the state could run into millions.

Nonetheless, Rowley raised a very important constitutional issue in relation to our sovereignty and the right to develop our own jurisprudence. I submit that the PC should be replaced with the CCJ, and those of us who suffer from a great inferiority complex must free ourselves from mental slavery and resist our former slave masters and colonisers from telling us how to conduct our affairs when it comes to justice for all.

Thus the Criminal Bar Association joins hands with those who believe that we should be masters of our own destiny in relation to justice for all our citizens. We thus call upon the political parties, namely the PNM and UNC, which are desirous of controlling our Parliament in the delivery of good governance to place in their manifestos the replacement of the PC with the CCJ.

Granting of silk

It is public knowledge that all the stakeholders in the legal profession are of the view that the granting of silk to lawyers should not be decided by the prime minister and it should reside in an independent non-aligned political entity.

Justice Devindra Rampersad, in the delivery of an interpretation writ brought by me, stated on November 22, 2024:

“It is clear that the current process (of the Prime Minister selecting lawyers for the award of silk) is not unlawful. It is also clear that there is a public clamour and considerable effort extended by the claimant himself (that is me) through his own private writings, and by LATT and several other luminaries and thinkers and leaders, that the current system is inappropriate and has to be changed.

“Based on the concerns raised over the last two decades by previous chief justices, attorneys general and senior attorneys, including LATT, it is this court’s respectful and hopeful wish that care and consideration will be given to the extensive work done since 2005 to now – almost 20 years – to try to change the process and make it more palatable and more transparent.”

Justice Rampersad, in his judgment, went on to say that he recognised change depended on political will, which did not seem forthcoming: “At the end of the day, this is regrettable since it continues to leave a sour taste for the public and, in particular, the legal profession. It also leaves a stain on appointees who, despite their merit, may be coloured by the broad brush of perceived political patronage. This issue is too important and too crucial to the rule of law in TT not to have a reasonable and expeditious solution and resolution.”

And as an aside, it is of interest to note that Rowley in his capacity as opposition leader in 2011 stated in Parliament that the awarding of silk should not be left in the hands of a prime minister. However, when he became prime minister, for nine years he himself refused to give up this ostentatious prerogative.

Thus the Criminal Bar Association calls upon both the PNM and UNC to place in their manifestos that whichever party were to win the general election, legislation will be enacted for the prerogative of granting silk to reside in the president and not the prime minister.

The CBA does not trust the so-called goodwill of the politicians in our country to do what they know is right. Both the PNM and UNC must be forced into doing what is decent, just and right. And the CBA loudly says that in granting silk to lawyers it must be justice for all and not only the lawyers the prime minister of the day favours.

Israel B Rajah-Khan SC is the president of the Criminal Bar Association