Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

Principal of the Norman Manley Law School, Professor Keith Sobion. - claudine housen/staff photographer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following increased speculations about the integrity of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), principal of the Norman Manley Law School, Professor Keith Sobion, is arguing that the problem is not with the system, but perhaps with the persons chosen to enforce it.

Professor Sobion's statements come on the heels of renewed comments that the implementation of the CCJ as an appellate court to replace the Privy Council would be a case of "institutionalising corruption."

The CCJ, which has yet to be accepted as an appellate court by all CARICOM countries, has been dogged by issues of corruption. These fears were heightened when Trinidad and Tobago's Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma was accused of trying to influence the outcome of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday's trial recently.

In defending the integrity of the legal system, Professor Sobion, during a lecture to the Cornwall Bar Association in Montego Bay on Saturday, said that the issue was not with the system, but with that of the individuals themselves.

Human weakness problem

"What we are dealing with is not really a systemic problem," he said. "There is no fragility in the system that we have. What we have is a pure human weakness problem ... What is wrong and what has caused this impasse is that an individual presuming himself to be above the law has sought to take a particular action, which has the effect of casting some doubts as to the credibility of judges generally. It also casts a shadow over the CCJ because it fuels the view that we are not mature enough as a people to manage our own affairs."

Recalling the resignation of Richard Nixon as United States President, Professor Sobion emphasised that the behaviour of a few persons should not be allowed to colour the system out of which they came.

"President Nixon, like any other person who has some kind of power, was reluctant to give it up and it does not mean that the presidential system is bad because one man acted in a particular way. All it demonstrates is that President Nixon lacked integrity - he personally," he said. "One man or couple of individuals do not affect the system unless it (the system itself) is corrupt."

Professor Sobion called on fellow lawyers and aspirants to use the Trinidad and Tobago situation as an example that they must practise with integrity.

"Your integrity is the one thing you cannot afford to lose," he said. "In every facet of life, whether you are a shopkeeper or the biggest businessman, at the end of the day you will be found out and the public humiliation will be great."