CCJ legislation comes to Senate

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Glenda Morean will present legislation to install the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as Trinidad and Tobago’s final court of appeal when the Senate sits on Tuesday November 11 at 1.30 pm. The Opposition UNC has vowed that it will not support the CCJ legislation until Government initiates constitutional reform in TT. However in an exclusive Newsday interview in Septem-ber, St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming expressed his opposition to the UNC’s strategy of non-cooperation on important pieces of legislation and raised doubts as to whether he would vote with his Opposition colleagues on the CCJ legislation.

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday has claimed that appointments to the CCJ could be dictated by politicians while Prime Minister Patrick Manning said TT has been embarrassed regionally by the UNC refusing to support the CCJ, even though it pledged to support the Court’s establishment while it was in power. Caricom leaders are due to meet in summit prior to the CCJ becoming operational later this month. In addition to the CCJ Bill 2003, Morean will also present the Constitution (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2003. Health Minister Colm Imbert will present the Professions Related to Medicine Rules 2003, which were passed in the Lower House last Friday. Speaking in the Lower House, Imbert said these rules would give legal recognition to certain classes of health workers who at present do not have such recognition. Imbert criticised the former regime for being selective in terms of which of these workers it should give legal recognition. Debate will also continue on a motion by Independent Senator Professor Ramesh Deosaran for live parliamentary debates and Opposition motions regarding equal opportunity and anti-corruption legislation. The UNC’s motion of no-confidence against Senate president Dr Linda Baboolal, which was struck off the Order Paper in May after the UNC said they were not ready to proceed, remains off the Order Paper.