Dear Editor: Indarsingh’s appointment as Industrial Court judge should spark national concern

“[…] The Industrial Court wields quasi-constitutional powers in employment matters. It issues binding decisions affecting the rights of workers, unions, and employers. The notion that such a role can be filled by a recent Opposition MP, without even a law degree, ought to provoke national concern.

“Appointments to judicial office, particularly one as senior and constitutionally protected as the Industrial Court, must be based on merit, impartiality, and competence, not political allegiance or trade union seniority. Otherwise, we risk transforming the Industrial Court into a political retirement home rather than a neutral, rights-respecting adjudicative body…”

The following Letter to the Editor on the appointment of former UNC MP Rudranath Indarsingh to the post of Industrial Court judge was submitted to Wired868 by Mohan Ramcharan, a Birmingham-based lawyer:

(Indarsingh served as Couva South MP from 2010 to 2025.)

The recent appointment of Mr Rudranath Indarsingh, a former government minister, member of Parliament, and active political figure, to the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago demands urgent and critical scrutiny—not least because it raises serious questions about the independence, competence, and credibility of the judicial process in industrial relations.

Let us be clear: this is not merely a political concern; it is a matter that strikes at the heart of constitutional governance and the rule of law.

While the Industrial Relations Act, Chap. 88:01 permits the appointment of non-legally qualified individuals as members of the Industrial Court, this provision was never intended to serve as a back door for overtly political actors to secure judicial office without legal qualifications, training, or a period of political neutrality.

The Court wields quasi-constitutional powers in employment matters. It issues binding decisions affecting the rights of workers, unions, and employers. The notion that such a role can be filled by a recent Opposition MP, without even a law degree, ought to provoke national concern.

Appointments to judicial office, particularly one as senior and constitutionally protected as the Industrial Court, must be based on merit, impartiality, and competence, not political allegiance or trade union seniority. Otherwise, we risk transforming the Industrial Court into a political retirement home rather than a neutral, rights-respecting adjudicative body.

Furthermore, the absence of a cooling-off period between political service and judicial appointment breaches accepted international norms of judicial independence, as recognised by the Latimer House Principles, to which Trinidad and Tobago is committed.

Judicial credibility is not merely about lawful appointments—it is about perceived and actual impartiality.

I call upon the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, the Office of the President, and the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago to account publicly for:

• The criteria used to assess Mr Indarsingh’s suitability for judicial appointment;
• Whether any legal competence or judicial training was required or undertaken;
• Whether any period of political disengagement was observed before appointment;
• The process by which the appointment was made, and whether it was transparently advertised or competitively assessed.

In a country where judicial appointments must inspire confidence, not controversy, this decision risks undermining decades of effort to safeguard the independence and credibility of the judiciary—especially in a forum as vital as the Industrial Court.

The people of Trinidad and Tobago deserve judges, not party loyalists.

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Mohan Ramcharan

Mohan Ramcharan is a Trinidadian living in England, an LLB (Hons) law graduate, systems thinking practitioner, and critical thinker. He is a product of two cultures and strives to be ethical and impartial in his thoughts and actions.