President of the Law Association of TT (LATT) Lynette Seebaran-Suite disapproves of political or governmental officials making unfounded accusations against the Judiciary.
She says LATT, however, has to be careful with its statements as it has a responsibility to remain neutral in politics.
Speaking to Sunday Newsday at her law office on Woodford Street, Port of Spain, Seebaran-Suite said, 'There is a natural and healthy tension between the Judiciary and the Executive because the Judiciary has to pronounce on the actions of the Executive. But discourteous discourse is always bad and confusing to the public and verbal attacks on the Judiciary have the tendency to undermine our institutions, especially when those attacks come from people who hold high office.'
On May 1, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds claimed that "criminals have friends in the Judiciary" after High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad ruled in favour of gun dealer Brent Thomas in a lawsuit which complained that his constitutional rights had been infringed. The judge also found Thomas was 'abducted' by police in Barbados and brought back to TT.
Seebaran-Suite, 69, went on to explain that LATT was a statutory body created by the Legal Profession Act (1986) that governed and disciplined members of the legal profession. Quoting the law, she said, the association's mandate was to 'represent and protect the interests of the legal profession in TT and to promote, maintain and support the administration of justice and the rule of law.'
As a result, she said LATT had a responsibility to comment on important constitutional and legal matters of the day, including important pieces of legislation that goes before the Parliament.
'With that we have to be vary careful to tread a fine line of neutrality and not to encroach into the political space. Although there is a great deal of pressure on the Law Association to take partisan political positions it is something we have to resist.'
She said it was sometimes criticised for not speaking out on issues but it had to be careful and could not participate in every discussion. It also waited until the facts were revealed before pronouncements were made.
'Also, it's not the prerogative of the president of the Law Association to give personal views. The Law Association speaks through its council, a council of 19 people, so there must be a consensus or a majority position, before a position can be taken on public issues.'
She added that LATT recently started an initiative to act as a channel of communication between the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Attorney General (AG) over the issues of the accommodation and staffing for the Office of the DPP.
She said LATT already met with the DPP to determine his position and challenges, but had to postpone the meeting with the AG when her mother passed away earlier this month.
However, the association met with the AG on the issue of reintroducing software for the Companies Registry of the Registrar General's Department and planned
