Glowing tribute was paid to the late Karl Hudson-Phillips, QC, former PNM MP for Diego Martin East, in Parliament yesterday.Hudson-Phillips, who served as a government MP from 1966 to 1976, died in London on Wednesday.A one-minute silence was observed in Parliament yesterday as a mark of respect on his passing.Earlier Works and Infrastructure Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan said Hudson-Phillips was "a genuine human being."
Rambachan's political career started under Hudson-Phillips in the Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR), which was formed in 1981 but was defeated by the George Chambers-led People's National Movement. Rambachan was the deputy leader of the ONR."Politically he was a selfless individual," Rambachan told legislators yesterday.
Rambachan suggested that citizens "will do well to examine Karl's short but significant political life and to seek to find out how it affected the development of a more politically mature national mind."He said Hudson-Phillips was a professional who always strived for excellence and was a loving and compassionate human being who closed the gap between word and deed, promise and delivery.
Opposition MP Colm Imbert, the incumbent MP for the renamed Diego Martin North-East constituency, said Hudson-Phillips was a "living example of somebody who came out of politics and did exceedingly well."After leaving politics Hudson-Phillips became a leading lawyer and one of the first judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He said the appointment of Hudson-Phillips as a Queen's Counsel at age 37 was a remarkable feat for a citizen of this country. Imbert said that appointment was made in 1970, 11 years after joining the Bar.Imbert said Hudson-Phillips was an international legal luminary.