PORT OF SPAIN, CANA:
CHIEF JUSTICE Michael de la Bastide, who last year accused the Trinidad and Tobago Executive of interfering in the independence of the judiciary, said Thursday that he would like to see peace between both sides.
Speaking before a Commission of Inquiry, the Chief Justice said the issues of concern can be resolved without enmity between the judiciary and the Executive.
"What I propose is that, after your report, we can achieve or strive for the judiciary and the Executive to begin each day with a clean slate and that the bitterness and criticisms produced by disagreements of yesterday should not affect the decisions and challenges of today. That is after all, the premise on which our Constitution is based," he said during his two-hour long session before the commission headed by Lord Mackay, a former High Chancellor of Great Britain.
The public expects it and really it is constitutionally improper and therefore unconstitutional for either the Executive or the judiciary to be the enemy of the other."
Public allegations
The commission which is probing the administration of justice was appointed by the Cabinet following public allegations by the Chief Justice that the Executive was encroaching on the judiciary.
He also claimed that there were powerful forces in the country who wanted to get rid of him.
On the issue of the appointment of judges which has become a concern to several lawyers appearing before the commission, the Chief Justice said he does not think it is immoral for him to sit on the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) to appoint judges.
Earlier this week several persons testifying before the commission complained about the appointment of judges.
Former Guyanese Attorney General Fenton Ramsahoye, who has been practising law in Trinidad and Tobago for 28 years, complained that judges were appointed "in secret", with no-one knowing what criteria were used and with no consultation.
In defending himself, the Chief Justice said his presence on the JLSC was not to intimidate judges.
"Once a judge is appointed, he is here to stay. He can't be affected. Why would I want to influence a judge unless I was a corrupt chief justice?" he asked
