The announcement of Justice Anthony Carmona as the Government's candidate for the presidency was one of the rare announcements from those quarters in recent times to be received with a unanimous thumbs-up.Here was a man widely seen as fair, independent and very clear on matters of integrity and responsibility being rightfully upheld as someone with the potential to guide the nation's future from the highest office in the land.
That the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader honoured that critical role with civil and nation-focused talks on the best candidate for the job spoke well of the gravitas both political leaders placed on making the right choice for the presidency and the need to choose the country's next president with care and appropriate forethought.
It was a process that worked this time, not least because of the exemplary character of the candidate–but the process clearly needs revisiting to ensure more lead time in the selection process and more opportunities for public consultation and discussion on potential candidates.
After the confidence-shattering missteps of the last year, which have seen several individuals appointed to hold positions they are not qualified to be considered for, the choice of Mr Carmona is a notable about-turn for the Government, and perhaps even a risky one.As a sitting judge, Anthony Carmona, SC, has not hesitated to offer strong, clearly articulated and well-justified opinions on the matters of justice over which he has been called to preside.
Last week, Justice Carmona lamented the surge in gun-related murders and his astonishment that an incident last month at the Beetham Estate which ended with eight people being shot hadn't provoked a greater outcry and formal law-enforcement response.Speaking to jurors in San Fernando in February 2010, he pleaded with parents to take better care of their children.
"I can sit here indifferent, day after day, sentencing manchild after manchild...you think it is easy?" he asked the jurors before dismissing them. "No, it's not, that's somebody's manchild."This was a man called to serve as a judge of the high court who was clearly moved by what he saw happening before him every day and felt moved to let the public know that it was tough on both sides of the bench.
In December 2011, it was announced that Justice Carmona had been elected to serve on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, chosen as one of six judges selected from 18 candidates.His experience in the High Court of T&T and his prior roles in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda put him in a winning position for that role.
Now the Hague's loss will be T&T's gain. Anthony Carmona's potential to be a defining President of T&T has been established. The congratulations on his appointment have been well earned, and the nation keenly awaits his approach to defining the office.