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.
02:53Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:56I don't know.
02:57I don't know.
02:58I don't know.
03:06I don't know.
03:11I don't know.
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