Lead Editor – Newsgathering
Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles had asked acting President Wade Mark to “abandon any appointment of a substantive Chief Justice at this time,” and instead revert to appointing an acting Chief Justice before the swearing-in of Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh yesterday.
Beckles made the request after writing to Mark questioning what she described as a “manifest rush” to appoint a substantive Chief Justice while President Christine Kangaloo is out of the country.
In her letter, Beckles said the process under Section 102 of the Constitution should be paused and that an appointment instead be made under Section 103, “perhaps in the person of the Honourable Mr Justice Prakash Moosai JA, the senior appellate Judge if he is available and so willing.”
Beckles said on October 14, she received a letter from President Kangaloo seeking her non-objection to Justice Moosai serving as acting CJ from November 5-10, during the now-retired CJ Ivor Archie’s absence. She said she gave that non-objection the following day.
However, she said yesterday, Mark sent her another notice regarding the need to appoint a CJ following Archie’s announcement of his immediate retirement, giving her until 1 pm yesterday to respond. New CJ Ronnie Boodoosingh was sworn in at 2 pm yesterday.
Beckles described the correspondence she received from the acting President as “materially deficient,” saying it failed to provide key information, including “a list of the persons currently serving as judges of the Court of Appeal, their résumés, tenure and seniority, areas of practice and expertise, and expressions of willingness… if called upon to be appointed as Chief Justice.”
She also accused Mark of failing to “identify the persons from the judges serving in the Court of Appeal that you may be now considering as proper candidates” and of not allowing “a proper and reasonable opportunity for me to give intelligent consideration and an intelligent response.”
Beckles said the process “appears to be a manifest rush to appoint a substantive Chief Justice when mere hours before, you clearly and quite properly proposed the appointment of an acting Chief Justice.” She added that with just one hour given for a response, “any recommendation by me… will not be at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage or where adequate time is given for this purpose.”
“It is my heartfelt desire that we should collectively act in the best interests of the people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” Beckles wrote, stressing that proper consultation and respect for constitutional procedure were essential.
Under Section 102 of the Constitution, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President “after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition,” while Section 103 allows for an acting appointment in cases of vacancy or incapacity. However, the legal requirement for consultation is broad and non-binding, giving the President discretion to proceed once the views of both parties have been sought.
In his correspondence, Mark said he received Chief Justice Archie’s resignation on Tuesday afternoon and, following legal advice, was satisfied that he could “proceed to make a permanent appointment to the office of Chief Justice pursuant to Section 102 of the Constitution.” He asked Beckles for any recommendations by 1 pm yesterday, citing the “unexpected” nature of Archie’s resignation and the limited timeframe to fill the vacancy.
Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh was sworn in as Chief Justice yesterday afternoon, after receiving his instrument of appointment from Mark at President’s House, in the presence of outgoing CJ Archie and Attorney General John Jeremie.
Justice Boodoosingh, who joined the bench in 2007 and was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2020, previously lectured at the Hugh Wooding Law School and served as director of its Trial Advocacy Programme. He is known for his 2011 ruling blocking the extradition of businessmen Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson to the US, after finding that Trinidad and Tobago was the more appropriate forum for their trial.