The PLP should do a memory check
tribune242 editorial
WELL FOR Pete's sake look whose talking!
In yesterday's Tribune the PLP criticised the "inept" FNM government for allowing crime to spiral out of control.
The PLP also condemned the FNM for failing to conduct a salary review for judges as is required by the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act. Have they forgotten the furore created during their administration in 2006 when Justice John Lyons accused the PLP government of causing a constitutional crisis and showing a "manifest disregard for the rule of law" by failing to conduct a review of justices' salaries -- the very same Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act of which they now complain?
At the time of the Lyons' accusation the country could have afforded such a review of salaries. However, in today's economic climate, such a salary review for judges or anyone else in the civil service would put too great a strain on the Public Treasury.
In a controversial ruling in that year, Justice Lyons claimed that the PLP government had deliberately ignored a law designed to protect the constitutional independence of "that body of persons whose task is to protect all persons in the Bahamas against abuses of their constitutional right.
"If this was a deliberate act by the Cabinet (the Christie Cabinet) then -- and there is no dull edge to this -- this must be considered a deliberate attack on the independence of the judiciary. And that, in turn, is an attack on the fundamental constitutional right enjoyed by all persons in this country," said Justice Lyons.
Some angry words were exchanged with Justice Lyons accusing then Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson of using her "swift justice" system as a "self-promoting" piece of headline hunting and Mrs Gibson counter attacking from the security of the House of Assembly to pour equal scorn on the judge in denouncing his assertions as "misleading."
The Bahamas Bar Association agreed with the judge that if judges had to rely on the discretion of politicians for salary increases, the impartiality of their judgments could be compromised.
"You are losing half of your judiciary in 12 months," Justice Lyons said in a speech to a financial group. He talked of the backlog of cases, of the length of time accused persons on remand had to wait in prison for a court date, of one judge having to do the work of five -- all the same complaints now facing Attorney General John Delaney, who was appointed to his post on November 25, 2009.
At the time even Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer sided with Justice Lyons, admitting that she had had "personal experience of the executive trying to manipulate the judiciary."
"When you destroy the public's faith in the independence of the judiciary, to which court do you take your case?" she wanted to know.
And in the Senate, Senator Delaney, criticised then Attorney General Maynard Gibson for using the House to launch her attack on Justice Lyons' integrity.
"While the current crisis may have started with the government failing (twice) in its legal obligations under the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act, the assailing of the character of a sitting judge is a separate and most egregious act by our Attorney General," said Senator Delaney.
Surely, the PLP who made the statement to the press yesterday are not so ignorant of their own history that they would make themselves look so foolish in pubic print. Or maybe their arrogance is such that they believe that Bahamians, like themselves, also have weak mental recall.
They also criticised the FNM government for allowing crime to spiral out of control, forgetting that crime has no nationality, nor has it any politics. Crime started to spiral out of control in the eighties when drugs took control of this country. And everyone knows under whose administration that occurred when Bahamians were made to believe that wealth, however obtained, was the sign of success, and it was nobody's business "whether I make it or I 'tief it!"
They also complain about not bringing offenders to justice and allowing persons who intimidate witnesses to continue to roam our streets -- the very criticism that we have of our judiciary's generosity with bail.
They talk of the serious criminal cases pending. This accumulation of a backlog didn't start under the FNM. We are particularly concerned about the murder of one of our staff during that administration, a case that could have been brought to a quick conclusion because of the number of eyewitnesses. However, the accused in this case is one of those walking the streets on bail.
As for our assessment of the Bahamian judiciary as a colossal failure, we make no apologies. Nor should anyone assume that this conclusion was aimed solely at our judges. Our lawyers are the largest part of this judicial body. The examination of conscience should start within "the honourable profession."
Attorney General Delaney knows the problems -- an accumulation of years of mismanagement. He has pinpointed the areas in need of reform and started the process. Not only should he be given time, but he should be given the resources and personnel to do the job.
September 07, 2010
tribune242 editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
