Retired Chief Magistrate takes to the streets

Nov 04, 2008 News

– pickets Court of Appeal

Yesterday, retired Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen and some supporters mounted a picketing exercise outside of the Court of Appeal.
They were armed with placards that proclaimed the former Chief Magistrate’s concern over what she called the low class behaviour of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Ms Holder-Allen said that she knew that the JSC had no intention of preparing her record of service so that she could be paid her retirement as well as her other benefits.
According to her, she received a brief note, which came in response to her letter of withdrawal of service. The response contained nothing concerning the state of payment of her monetary benefits. She also expressed disappointment that there were “no words of thanks for my services, or regrets that it has ended, or any such thing.”
Speaking with Kaieteur News, Ms Holder-Allen said that she had read in the newspaper that Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Carl Singh, had said that the ‘former Chief Magistrate will be paid.’
According to her, “I need to make it clear that it is the law which states that I must be paid.
What Carl Singh has to do is to cause my record of service to be made up, and that is not forthcoming. My presence here (outside of the Court of Appeal) is to force the Commission to make up this important document, so that monetary payments to me by the Finance Ministry could be effected. That is all that I am asking. Just do up my record of service.”
She said that her protest would continue until she was paid what was owed to her.