ICC Judge bats for the CJ

RECENTLY-APPOINTED Inter-national Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Karl Hudson-Phillips QC has come out in defence of Chief Justice Sat Sharma in his battle with the Government over the planned removal of the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court without consultation.

Hours after he returned from the Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Hudson-Phillips put pen to paper to show his disgust that the Government wants to remove the city court house from its present location without consulting CJ Sharma. Hudson-Phillips, President of the Law Association, said “it is inconceivable that any such decision could be made without adequate and meaningful consultation with the Honourable Chief Justice, the Judiciary and in the case of the Magistrates’ Court, the Magistracy, as well as the Law Association.” He said the Council of the Law Association expressed the hope that Government will see fit, even at this stage, to engage in meaningful consultation with all the stakeholders, and in particular the Judiciary, in order to ensure that their concerns and interests are properly taken into account before the plans, which have been announced, move to the implementation stage.

Hudson-Phillips pointed out that the Council viewed with great concern the recent announcement by the Government of its plans with regard to the development of the capital in so far as they impact upon the Judiciary and the delivery of justice to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Hudson-Phillips noted that the initial announcement by the Government was made without consultation with the Judiciary and without even the courtesy of informing the Chief Justice, the head of the Judiciary. “This situation has been exacerbated by the latest announcement of the Honourable Prime Minister with respect to a plan to relocate the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court from its present location to Trinidad House on lower St Vincent Street.” CJ Sharma said the executive has shown disrespect by moving ahead with the plans without informing him — the head of the judiciary. But Newsday was informed last night that Prime Minister contacted the CJ by telephone yesterday “to discuss” the matter. Speaking in Parliament late yesterday, PM Manning indicated his intention to consult with the interested parties.