PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Lawyers for former Trinidad and Tobago prime minister, Basdeo Panday, Monday outlined three reasons why the Appeal Court should overturn a two-year jail term imposed on the politician for failing to declare a foreign bank account to the Integrity Commission.

Sentenced

Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls sentenced the leader of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) to consecutive two-year jail terms on three charges for failing to declare the bank account he and his wife, Oma, held at the Natwest Bank in London for the years 1997,1998 and 1999.

Panday, who is on TT$300,000 (US$50,000) bail, is being represented by a battery of high powered lawyers, including his former attorney general, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, whom he had fired from his Cabinet in 2000, and British Queen's Counsel Richard Clayton.

In his submission to the three-member Appeal Court, Clayton outlined three areas why the sentence should be overturned.

He argued that the meeting between Mc Nicolls and Attorney General John Jeremie the Chief Magistrate aligning himself to the treasurer of the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) and that Mc Nicolls had formed an opinion about CL Financial and its head, Lawrence Duprey, a friend of Panday, because of a property dispute were areas of concern.

Core of the case

The lawyers have argued that the meeting between Jeremie and the Chief Magistrate formed the core of their case, with Clayton noting that the mere fact that the meeting took place on a matter which does not concern him, and the fact that the former Prime Minister was given the full sentence a few days later, is enough for any fair thinking person to conclude there was executive influence in Panday's case.

"It is not suggested that the Chief Magistrate is guilty of actual bias in his consideration of Mr. Panday's case. However, the Chief Magistrate has, regrettably, placed himself in a position where it is plain that there are circumstances which would lead a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the relevant facts, to conclude that there was a real possibility that he was biased."