Tag Archives: judiciary

“[…] As the calypsonian Luta said: ‘the system works for the rich, it holds no hope for the poor’. So miss we with talk about ‘bulwark of democracy’, ‘separation of powers’ and ‘sanctity of the process’. “[…] Are we to expect the Customs, Immigration, Police and parliamentarians to follow the …

“[…] The T&T constitution is defective in one important respect. Too much power of nomination and appointment resides in the premiership and presidency; and therein lies suspicions of cronyism. “The Constitution effectively leaves the lid of the cookie jar unsecured. It then seems to operate on the expectation that those …

When a public official who has undoubted legal power exercises that power, a question of the legitimacy of the exercise of that power can arise. Legitimacy concerns the exercise of legal power in a manner that is appropriate and justifiable and does not otherwise disturb the public conscience. Our governments …

I have a friend who I will call Jarndyce, to protect his identity and save him from victimization. His story is this. Jarndyce is in his sixties and suffered a major failure of his eyesight in January 2020 as a result of glaucoma, which is a clandestine destroyer of sight—because …

“[…] Access to justice is a human right and divorce is a basic exercise in access to justice. For many women, divorce is the only means by which to escape domestic violence or financial subjugation at the hands of a spouse. “[…] Adjournments or no shows of judges prolong the …

“[…] We should seek to establish an advisory committee comprising of eminent jurists and law enforcement officials from some [foreign] jurisdictions (possibly a five-member panel) to undertake a comprehensive review of our existing laws and other measures/practices in our criminal justice system. “[…] Accordingly, all crimes related to the illegal importation …

Nearly three months ago, in a column published on 5 September, I called on the Government to consider legislative options in the face of the Delta variant threat. I wrote as follows: ‘Given the low rate of vaccination, our population is wide open to death or hospitalisation from the Delta …

The swearing of an oath by our presidents is an expression of a specific intention to others. It is not limited to the moment when the person articulates the words. It commits to act in a certain way in the future.  This action is a deliberate exercise of one’s free …

Within the last two years, the world has had two pivotal moments: the arrival of Covid-19 and the development of the vaccine. The virus started small but has taken lives and wrecked economies, changing the way we live forever.  Even though ‘Operation Warp Speed’ delivered vaccines way ahead of schedule …

“[…] As any seasoned attorney would know, however, this is of the nature of errors for which provision is made in the rules for simple correction by the Registrar. This was done. “[…] To suggest any nefarious intent or conspiracy is to seek to undermine the independence of the judiciary …

“[…] We subscribe to a criminal justice system which is fair though not infallible. What the abolitionists must bear in mind is that if a man is really innocent, it is better that he be executed than be incarcerated for life; for that man—knowing he is innocent—would live a life …

Change is needed. Whether they are the right changes, fast changes or far enough changes, will always be a matter for debate.  However, what is certain is that the criminal justice system needs reform. And while it may be convenient to ascribe blame on one component of this integral system, …