In spite of the fact that I am very disappointed that Ivor Archie continues to preside as Chief Justice of our country with very serious and scandalous allegations of misconduct still hanging over his head, I have reluctantly accepted a formal invitation by his Protocol Office to attend the Ceremonial Opening of the 2019-2020 Law Term in order to hear what the Learned Chief Justice will tell the citizens regarding his unprecedented stormy stewardship of the Judiciary for the past year(s).
I had initially declined the invitation to attend this very important event, but on sober and mature reflection I have decided not to boycott the Judiciary because whether I like it or not, I must accept the fact that His Lordship Archie is still the Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago and I being a senior member of the legal profession (and an officer of the Court) must lead by example and thus respect, not so much the man Ivor Archie, but the Office of the Chief Justice, in spite of my personal disapproval and deprecation that the Chief Justice has not been exonerated from the serious and scandalous allegations of misconduct made against him.
Thus I refuse to cut my nose to spite my face in this brazen “bacchanal” involving Archie: I am a strong supporter of the Judiciary and I will continue to do so.
However, my contempt for Archie must be taken within the context of the recent poll conducted by Nigel Henry which revealed that the country is split along racial and socio-economical lines on whether the Chief Justice should be impeached. And it is of great significance that the poll concluded that the largest block of the population is yet to form an opinion whether the Prime Minister should initiate the formal proceedings to investigate whether the allegations are true, and if so, whether the Chief Justice should be removed from office.
Thus I am hoping against hope that when the Chief Justice addresses the nation via his ceremonial speech on the occasion of the 2019-2020 Law Term, he will announce his resignation and save the Judiciary and the country from the rapid polarization on the grounds of racial and socio-economical lines involving the allegations of misconduct made against him.
There are underground whispers that certain judges of East Indian descent are undermining the Chief Justice, together with the support of prominent East Indian attorneys. And on the face of it, it appears that it is on the ground of race that we want the Chief Justice out of office, for it is true that the judges and prominent attorneys of African descent are silent on the issue and the outspoken judges and lawyers are East Indians.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has added fuel to this racial polarization on the issue. He indicated that as far as he is concerned, there is a sinister plot by “some people” to get rid of the Chief Justice because these people believe that the Judiciary is available for their use and purpose.
In April, he is reported as saying: “There are some people who believe the judiciary is available for their use and purpose. I am aware of what is happening and on invitations, I take careful note of the conspiracies. One of these days, I’m going to tell the people what their agenda is, who is involved, what they are doing and the danger they are posing.”
Shortly after making the conspiracy allegation by some people to remove the Chief Justice, PM Rowley, at a political meeting, stated that the Law Association (LATT) is the handmaid of the UNC party who wants the CJ out of office: and LATT is doing the bidding of the UNC and is thus pressing for his removal from office.
It is now history that the Prime Minister procured a legal opinion which stated that the allegations of misconduct of the Chief Justice are not serious enough to warrant his removal from office and that the evidence against him is weak.
Thus the Prime Minister has decided that he is not going to trigger the processing of a Section 137 tribunal in order to ascertain whether the allegations of misconduct made against the Chief Justice are true and if true whether it warrants his removal from office.
The Law Association is yet to decide whether Judicial Review Proceedings should be filed against the Prime Minister’s refusal to trigger a Section 137 tribunal.
It is an open secret that the Chief Justice is not speaking to quite a few judges/or the judges are not speaking to the Chief Justice.
Many judges believe that all is not well with the Judiciary and three senior judges of the Court of Appeal (including an acting CJ) delivered a judgment against the Chief Justice, all stating that the allegations against him are very serious and if he is not exonerated irreparable harm would be done to the Judiciary.
In spite of all this mess, the learned Chief Justice is exercising his right to remain silent because the law holds that he is presumed to be innocent of the common law criminal offence of misbehaviour in public office and he remains Chief Justice of this country so long as a Section 137 tribunal does not recommend his removal for misconduct.
In the light of the foregoing comments, I expect the Chief Justice to say something on the issue of the allegations of misconduct made against him when he delivers his speech at the Ceremonial Opening of the 2019-2020 Law Term.
Meanwhile, I expect all the judges and lawyers in our beloved country to support the Judiciary by attending the Ceremonial Opening carded for September 16, 2019. The Judiciary is a sacred institution and the guardian of our Constitution and democracy.
It must not be brought into disrepute.