By Prior Beharry
POLITICAL Leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) Phillip Edward Alexander is against the removal of the Privy Council as the final appellate court for Trinidad and Tobago.
In a release on Thursday, he said the “last pin” holding the democracy together was knowing that there were people disconnected from our society who review cases in a dispassionate and fair manner.
He said, “I will go so far as to say that in my view the last pin possibly holding this democracy together is knowing that ultimately there are persons disconnected from this microscopic, interconnected gene pool that can be relied on to review cases in a dispassionate and fair manner.
“Before we even consider shaking the Privy Council loose how about hiring some of those same (Law) Lords to sit on an official enquiry into our justice system? If we believed that we are ready and irreproachable we would have nothing to fear from introspection.”
Alexander called for a better mechanism for disciplining errant judges.
He said, “Until there is a mechanism for complaint and discipline of errant judges, until the public can discuss the merits of a case and the decisions and actions of the judge handling of same without fear, until complaints of bias against judges are not heard by the same judges complained about, until the contempt law does not prevent wrongdoing being discussed, until obvious politicians are not given a seat on the bench, please, oh please, never consider getting rid of the Privy Council.”
Alexander said, “Our nation from independence to now has been far too corrupt and all our institutions too easily influenced for me to believe that we should ever have control of our final court of appeal.
“There are people who out of fear of victimization or just disinterest in the cumulative nuisance value of going up against judicial injustices remain silent. Before seeking ultimate control as a badge of some notion of maturity, how about giving those people a voice?
“We have some very able and capable judges that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world, and we have some that should not be judging variety shows. Until there is a mechanism that can identify one from the other and act on it, and until justice and not winning by any means is the ultimate objective, please, oh please, for the good of all that is good and decent, keep the Privy Council as our final court of appeal.”
