The ball is now in the court of Chief Justice Ivor Archie to “do the right thing” following an overwhelming vote of no confidence in him by members of the Law Association last night.
Five resolutions, which spoke to a loss of confidence in Archie, a loss of confidence in the CJ as head of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), a loss of confidence in JLSC members Justices Roger Hamel Smith, Humphrey Stollmeyer and head of the Public Service Majorie Thorpe, were passed by a collective vote of 1,138 attorneys voting for and 517 against.
Speaking soon after the meeting, former chief justice Satnarine Sharma told the T&T Guardian there is nothing in the Constitution to address a vote of no confidence against a sitting chief justice. However, with the lawyers having voted overwhelmingly against Archie, he said the onus is now on the Chief Justice “to take steps to remove himself. It is a moral thing.”
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has gone on record as saying that the Government had put a wall of China between the issues and the executive.
Legal sources told the T&T Guardian that as titular head of the Bar, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi can do nothing unless there is a decision by the Government to proceed with impeachment against the Chief Justice.
That process must be done in accordance with the Constitution, which speaks to impeachment on the grounds of misbehaviour in public office or misconduct.
President of the Assembly of Southern Lawyers Reshard Khan, who attended the meeting, told the T&T Guardian: “I think the legal fraternity as a whole has spoken, the ball is now in the court of the Chief Justice.”
Khan said there was an overwhelming view at the meeting that the CJ and the JLSC had failed to take responsibility for the judicial mess left in the wake of the elevation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a judge of the High Court, her subsequent resignation and the ensuing fallout on the 53 part-heard matters which she left when she was appointed a judge.
Khan could not speculate on what happens next, but said “let us wait and see what happens over the next few days.”
Avory Sinanan SC meanwhile said “lawyers had stood up for what they think is right, we have been pilloried as money chasers but we stood on higher ground of justice and democracy.”
He too agreed what happens next rests with the CJ and JLSC.
“If your legitimacy and moral principles are called into question what do you do, hold on to a shell? A judge must not only be legally proper but morally proper.”
At the executive level, he said “the Prime Minister must consult with the Attorney General and see whether on the basis of the vote there is misbehaviour in public office and whether that threshold for removing the Chief Justice and the JLSC has been crossed.”
The AG, he said, will need to get legal advice and then take it from there.
