Prakash: Don’t demonise Frank

Speaking to reporters at the start of his constituency’s Food For All God’s Own at Helping Hands Recreation Ground, St Augustine, Ramadhar responded to the latest controversy plaguing the legal fraternity - allegations which questioned how Seepersad came to be assigned to three cases brought by attorneys closely linked to the United National Congress.

He warned against further attempts to undermine the Judiciary, having regard to the controversies surrounding Chief Justice Ivor Archie and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) in relation to former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar appointment to the High Court in April and her subsequent resignation.

“Our democracy is very fragile,” he said.

“We have seen the attacks on all sides in relation to the JLSC and the Chief Justice. We cannot afford at this time for the country to lose faith further in our Judiciary. To do that, if we lose faith, we will truly have mayhem and anarchy in the country.” Ramadhar said as far as he understood, Seepersad’s actions were above board.

“I think it is important for the process to be as transparent as it could possibly be....And from what I understand, it was in accord with every due process,” he said.

“I am not speaking on his (Seepersad’s) behalf but it is important that you do not demonise because you disagree. That is why it is important if somebody in a mature society, if you have disagreement, there is a process to deal with it.

“You go before the Court of Appeal and those who are unhappy with the Court of Appeal’s ruling they go to the Privy Council, which is the final court.” Ramadhar said Seepersad, in his professional capacity, has always shown himself to be very robust in carrying out his duties.

“The rights of the people are always protected by him. He leans, if there is anything at all, in favour of the people’s rights as distinct from the State’s rights,” he said.

“There is a balance and that is his duty as a judge. So, you can’t hold on because the ruling is unhappy for you to start demonising him because it is an attack on all judges.

“It is a process if a judge rules in one way or other, there is the appellate process. This happens every single day. But when you start effectively undermining a member of the Judiciary, you undermine all of the Judiciary.” Ramadhar recalled that in the past, judges also had been accused of being favourable of other political parties.

“But you never saw that statement being made publicly. You may have your beliefs but you cannot prove anything like that,” he said.

In a strongly-worded statement on Friday, Law Association president Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes said the assignment of cases to judges was done through an electronic system administered by the High Court Civil Registry.

“Neither can any inference be be properly drawn from the alacrity with which he approaches his judicial functions or the efficacy with which he discharges them,” Mendes wrote.