Senior Counsel Larry Lalla says the appointment of Ronnie Boodoosingh as the new Chief Justice is an excellent choice. But he warns that the proper consultation and constitutional procedures were not followed. Speaking to the Morning Edition, Lalla stresses that these steps are critical and in this instance, he believes they were ignored.
00:00On Wednesday, the office of the President announced that the new Chief Justice would be sworn in at 2 p.m. at President's House in Port of Spain.
00:10Senior Counsel Larry Lalla tells the morning edition the proper process requires the President to consult both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader before making the appointment, a step he says was not fully observed.
00:24I have looked at the correspondence which was passed between the Office of President and the Office of Leader of the Opposition.
00:36I am doubtful whether that could be considered proper consultation.
00:41I don't mean to trivialize the importance of what was done.
00:44But there can't be consultation if the name of the person being considered is not disclosed to the person that you need to consult with.
00:56The Senior Counsel explains that while the appointment of the Chief Justice is ultimately at the discretion of the President, consultation is critical.
01:05He tells us the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader may have information about the candidate, positive, negative or neutral, that could inform the decision.
01:16He notes that according to the Constitution, their input is meant to guide the appointment process.
01:23But the point is this morning we would not have had the Office of Chief Justice being marred in the Bacchanal.
01:30If only people understand how to execute their office properly and do so, we would not have this problem.
01:39Lala emphasizes that he is not blaming Acting President Wade Mark, noting that the appointment may have been made based on advice he received.
01:50He adds that it is possible the Acting President did not receive proper guidance on how the process should have been conducted.
01:57Lala makes it clear that he personally views the appointment of Justice Budasinghe as a very good choice, noting the experience, integrity and humane approach the new Chief Justice will bring to the role.
02:10However, he adds that several challenges remain within the judicial system that he hopes the new Chief Justice will tackle during his tenure.
02:20That is something that has to be addressed urgently.
02:24There are still some judges who are taking too long to issue judgments in matters that they have completed.
02:35And for many reasons which may have no fault to lay at the feet of the judges, might be a question of resources, we don't know.
02:45He also wants the return of in-person court appearances, which he says contributes to transparency and relationship building.
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