The Law Association has defended the appointment of retired Judge Sebastian Ventour to the Integrity Commission. In a news release sent yesterday afternoon, the association’s president Seenath Jairam, SC, said that Ventour should not be barred from selection to sit on the Commission. The issue of Ventour’s appointment relates to his continuing role on the Ministry of Legal Affair’s Constitutional Reform Commission.
“It has been said, inter alia, that by virtue of the fact that Mr Justice Ventour sits on a commission with a remit to make recommendations in respect of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago that he is a “person in public life” and/or a “person exercising a public function” and therefore cannot sit on the Integrity Commission,” Jairam said.
Refering to Section 2 of the Integrity in Public Life Act, which defines both categories, Jairam stated that Ventour falls in neither category. “The establishment of an ad hoc commission is not a new concept in T&T. If Parliament, when legislating on the Integrity Commission, wished to capture the members of such commissions in either of the aforementioned classes it would have done so by express inclusion,” Jairam said.