Mendes mum on CJ, Ayers-Caesar issue

At the start of the news conference at the association’s Frederick Street, Port of Spain office, Mendes said neither he nor any committee member would be commenting on the, “Events of the past six weeks.” CJ Archie and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) which he chairs have been roundly condemned for overseeing the elevation of Ayers-Caesar from chief magistrate to High Court judge although she left behind dozens of cases which are still pending on her magistrates court docket. Ayers-Caesar has since resigned as a judge.

This led to calls from attorneys, politicians and others in society calling for both CJ Archie and the JLSC members to resign. The Association in an unprecedented move, held a meeting and voted to move a motion of no confidence in both the CJ and the JLSC and to call on both to resign.

Mendes yesterday said the newly formed Committee on Judicial Appointments will accept written submissions and hold public consultations, with a review to reporting back to the Association within three months. The committee is chaired by Justice Desiree Bernard, former judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and chancellor of Guyana Court of Appeal.

Other committee members are Law Association vice president Rajiv Persad, trade unionist David Abdulah, attorney Rishi Dass, economist Dr Terrence Farrell, attorney Vanessa Gopaul and university law lecturer Tracy Robinson. Given Abdulah’s recent criticisms of CJ Archie, reporters asked if as a committee member he would be under a gag-order. Mendes replied, “No.” Pressed if Abdulah’s presence might prejudice the committee, Mendes said their remit does not include, “Recent events.” He said, “Nothing he (Abdulah) said about recent events will be relevant to the work of the committee.” Abdulah who was present at the press conference yesterday did not answer questions from reporters.

Asked by Newsday if the committee was a red herring to distract attention from the Archie/ Ayers-Caesar matter, Mendes said the Council of the Law Association had in fact raised the matter of judicial appointments in April, long before the no-confidence vote against Archie.

Mendes said TT’s current system of appointments has existed since Independence, but other systems can give new perceptions of transparency and accountability.

“The idea is to fashion a system suited to our circumstances and to our culture.” He said the LATT Council had unanimously agreed on the setting upon the committee.

Justice Bernard said the average person is unaware of how judges work and how much work goes into producing a judgment. “We want to make the public more aware of the work of judges and the work in appointing judges,” she said.