IN THE WAKE of the Prime Minister's call last Friday for all public servants to return to work in person, the judiciary has demurred.
'The operations of the judiciary require appropriate planning,' it said on Monday, adding that staff had been 'advised to continue to work as they have been doing and await further instructions.'
This position is disappointing. Regardless of the intentions of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and his team, it paints a picture of a judiciary willing to undermine the Government's authority in the management of a public health emergency. It also creates the impression of an institution that believes itself to be a law unto itself.
The need for a robustly independent judiciary in any functioning democracy is obvious. Without such independence, there would be no check on executive branches of the State, and also no forum in which disputes can be resolved fairly and with due respect for the rule of law.
But the judiciary is not there to be an island entire unto itself. It serves a vital function for members of the public who are clamouring for the justice system to function more efficiently, many of them having been at its expensive and stressful mercy for years while waiting for even minor cases to be concluded.
Whatever misgivings officials in the judiciary may have about the merits of the Government's policy decision, it is not for that organ to cherry-pick which state directives it will comply with and which it will not.
From what we can tell, there is no reason why the judiciary could not ensure a safe return to work by adopting the same measures in place in offices all over the country, even factoring in the layouts of courts and chambers.
Unlike the situation earlier in the pandemic, vaccines are now readily available, and variants of concern have peaked and are at present on the decline. If this changes, then once again not the judiciary alone but the whole country will have to make necessary readjustments for the common good.
Clearly, like other sectors, the judiciary was placed in the unenviable situation of having to adjust complex operations at the last minute.
But had it been so concerned about safety, it could have simply engaged the long-standing conduit available to it, namely the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, to record its objection. Or it could have simply worked over the weekend to ensure Monday's resumption of more-or-less-normal service to members of the public would be safe.
It is that service to the public, after all, which is the raison d'etre of the entire structure of the judiciary, from the most junior clerk to the Court of Appeal.
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