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 PN