De la Bastide talk of legal town

The Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain was abuzz yesterday with talk over Newsday’s exclusive front page story about the appointment of former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide to the Board of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The story, broken by Court Editor Francis Joseph, took the country, and especially the legal fraternity, by surprise. News of de la Bastide’s elevation, was a welcome one which generated much debate at the Hall of Justice.

One comment, common among all attorneys, was that de la Bastide’s legal prominence certainly justifies his elevation on the bench of the Privy Council, the final court of appeal for Trinidad and Tobago and several other Commonwealth countries. He was also recently named the first president of the yet-to-be inaugurated Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ.) When opened, the CCJ will be the final court of appeal for most Caribbean countries. However, some attorneys expressed concern about a voice problem he has been suffering with, while others shrugged it off as a non-issue, noting that the Law Lords ask many questions, but rarely get involved in discussions as is common with CJs in the Court of Appeal. As one attorney put it, the Law Lords are writers, not talkers. Attorneys recalled several of de la Bastide’s judgments as CJ, which they described as excellent and enlightening.