A major row has broken out in Trinidad following the promotion of 17 attorneys to senior counsel status including the controversial appointments of the brother and husband of recently elected President Christine Kangaloo.
The appointments, nevertheless made strictly along the rules set out in the constitution, have pushed many to question the system currently used to select those for elevation as recommendations are made by cabinet then up the political chain ending with the president. The umbrella bar association appears to have no role in the process and given the fact that Kangaloo has conferred “silk” status on her brother Colin and husband Kerwyn Garcia, calls for reform of the process are now being made from all quarters.
Presiding over the ceremony on Monday, President Kangaloo was careful to point out that she had little to do with the appointments, reminding those attending that she only gets involved at the very final stage of the process at the conferral ceremony.
“At the end of the process, the president-whoever he or she may be-acts in accordance with section 80 of the constitution, and on an occasion like today, formally confers senior counsel status to those upon whom he or she has been advised to do so,” she said.
But the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) says it is not impressed with her explanation as it had warned during her nomination process that she would have functioned as a political puppet for the Keith Rowley administration.
Leader and former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told a party political rally Monday night that the nation’s worst nightmare has come through.
“We warned that this president would be a puppet, but we didn’t know she was going to be a puppet for her own family. We thought she’d be the People’s National Movement puppet — which of course she is also. Now she’s the puppet of her family.”
Deputy Leader Roodal Moonilal also said that “we warned this country that the appointment of a sitting politician and PNM party demagogue was inimical to our national interest. They did exactly what we thought they would do without hesitation,” he said.
Anticipating criticisms, President Kangaloo was careful to explain the process for the public, noting that it starts with the attorney general inviting lawyers to apply. He then consults with the chief justice, then recommends possible awardees to the prime minister who in turn submits the list to the president.
Critics of the current system say they prefer to see the establishment of a seven-member panel including the chief justice and the AG which would then recommend applicants to cabinet then onto the head of state. This they seem to think would be fairer and would minimize the impression of political partiality.
Persad-Bissessar was herself made an SC while serving as PM back in 2011.
