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That slippery slope again

May 14, 2017 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Some persons have tried to suggest that the government is trying to improve the capacity of the Ministry of Legal Affairs by appointing five legal luminaries to assist the Ministry. The reason for the government’s actions may not be that simple; it may be for a more ominous reason.

The general argument, whether facetiously made or not, was that the Ministry of Legal Affairs needs assistance in defending the many actions which it faces. It is therefore being suggested that the government is attempting to improve the range of depth of legal skills by employing the five legal luminaries.

This argument I believe is disrespectful to those who presently work within the Ministry. There are two senior counsel employed within the Ministry, including the present Attorney General.  There are very good legal minds also employed within the Ministry. It is disrespectful to these persons to suggest that they need assistance.

One of the experiences of the Caribbean Court of Justice is that it has allowed for many young lawyers to match intellect and legal knowledge with many who are considered senior counsel. The younger lawyers, while not always prevailing, have held their own in the cases before the CCJ.

We should therefore not assume that the Ministry of Legal Affairs does not have the range and depth of legal skills required to defend actions brought against the government. I have the fullest confidence in some of the young lawyers within our legal system and the ability to successfully lock horns with some of the more experienced legal minds.

The fact of the matter, also, is that employing top notch legal brains will not help much if your case is weak. The PNCR lost a number of cases, despite having legal heavyweights in its corner. It lost not because of the failings of its lawyers, but simply because its case was weak in the first place.  The government is facing a number of legal challenges at present. It is difficult to see how the government can effectively defend some of its actions. Not even the best legal minds can dig the government out of the legal morass in which it finds itself because of its ill-advised actions. If the evidence against you is overwhelming, there is nothing much the best legal brains can do. Some cases simply cannot be won, no matter which lawyers are employed.

The employment of the five legal luminaries may therefore have nothing to do with the existing workload of the Ministry of Legal Affairs. It may be more concerned with what is in the future.

The government has made a strange interpretation of the constitutional provisions relating to the appointment of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission. The President has this bizarre notion that the person has to be a judge or have judge-like qualities, whatever that means and however that is assessed.

The fear is that the foundation is being laid for the President to abandon the Carter formula which has been used to appoint all the Chairpersons of the Guyana Elections Commission since 1991. The suspicion is that the President has someone in mind whom he favours and therefore wants that person appointed. The more ominous question is why the government would wish to abandon the Carter formula.

The problem is that the opposition is not likely to sit idly by and allow a disingenuous interpretation of the Constitution to dictate who is appointed as the Chairperson of GECOM. It is likely to challenge any such move by the government. Already, a private citizen has approached the Courts for an interpretation of the relevant constitutional provision.

The appointment of the five legal luminaries may be part of the government’s plan to ensure a robust defence of its interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution relating to the appointment of a Chair for GECOM.

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