He is aware of the troubled history of the Integrity Commission and the circumstances in which his first involvement with that body was aborted. He and President's House should be anxious to ensure all goes well this time around. The events of May 1, 2009, when Mr Hosein resigned just hours after being sworn in as a member of the commission by former president George Maxwell Richards are still fresh in the minds of many. That is particularly so because the commission soon collapsed, with then chairman, the late Father Henry Charles, resigning following allegations of plagiarism, with other members quickly following suit.
Retired Justice Zainool Hosein, who was sworn in as chairman of the Integrity Commission on Friday, could start his new assignment on solid footing by being more open and direct in his responses to concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
It is not enough for Mr Hosein to declare that he sees no problem in taking up his new post while continuing to function as president of the Retired Judges Association.
He will also need to address concerns about his professional relationship with ILP leader Austin "Jack" Warner, who is currently the focus of an investigation by the Integrity Commission.
Mr Hosein and President's House need to understand that in these matters openness is the best policy, rather than silence on the one hand and on the other, Mr Hosein scolding the media for doing their job and asking them sarcastically whether they don't understand English.
The new Integrity Commission chairman must bear in mind that he is no longer a judge and cannot retreat from the arena as though he were still on the lofty and cloistered heights of the bench.
Furthermore, times have changed and people no longer feel blind faith in institutions and public officials or feel obliged to accept their decisions at face value and without expressing their own opinions.
The public and the media ask sometimes tough questions and expect to be treated at least as equals, as the people the office-holder has been put there to serve, and to get full, forthright and respectful answers.
Since Retired Judges Association has been lobbying the Government for enhancement of judges' pensions, Mr Hosein does not now have the luxury of choosing to address those concerns when he is wearing a different hat–the two roles cannot be so easily separated.
It is on public record that Mr Hosein was one of three attorneys who critiqued and offered legal advice on the Concacaf Integrity Report done by Sir David Simmons on Mr Warner's role as president of Concacaf.
Mr Hosein and fellow attorneys Andrew Mitchell, QC, and Bertram E Commissiong, QC, deemed the report flawed and advised Mr Warner to challenge it in court.
Now that Mr Hosein sits as chairman of the Integrity Commission, which is currently investigating the Concacaf allegations against Mr Warner, he should be mindful of the complications arising from his roles then and now in this matter.
In addition, he is aware of the troubled history of the Integrity Commission and the circumstances in which his first involvement with that body was aborted. He and President's House should be anxious to ensure all goes well this time around. The events of May 1, 2009, when Mr Hosein resigned just hours after being sworn in as a member of the commission by former president George Maxwell Richards are still fresh in the minds of many. That is particularly so because the commission soon collapsed, with then chairman, the late Father Henry Charles, resigning following allegations of plagiarism, with other members quickly following suit.
Given all these events, Mr Hosein should be eager to make a positive start to his tenure as chairman by quickly clearing the air on these two issues.