Indeed, the appointment of Justice Ivor Archie has caused quite an uproar in various quarters.  The Bar Association was up in arms, insisting they should have had an input in the selection process while others argue the stipulations of the Constitution should be ignored and the process opened up to include non-resident Justices who may have distinguished themselves.

I share the sentiments of Gillian Lucky that “change and the freshness of a new approach is usually guaranteed with the appointment of those who are relatively young”. (Guardian January 25, 2008) . In fact, Justice Archie’s youth and proven competence in my humble opinion does more to restore confidence in the delivery of justice in T&T than objectors to his appointment realize or care to admit.

Perhaps, the Bar Association needs to be reminded of the recommendations put forward in the Wooding Report regarding fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Report of the Constitution Commission 1974, commonly referred to as the Wooding Report is very interesting reading, the views of the Bar Association on fundamental rights and freedoms Section III is a must read.  Extracts have been provided.

These problems have arisen because the Bar Association’s view prevailed that the fundamental rights and freedoms should be briefly and simply stated.  Objection was taken to the original draft of the present Constitution which set them out in much the same way as in the European Convention on Human Rights. (Source: Report of the Constitution Commission 1974, Item 78

We are convinced that it is wrong to set out rights and freedoms in absolute terms, defining them as fundamental, and then to provide that Parliament may pass laws expressly declaring that they shall  have effect notwithstanding those rights and freedoms.  The concept may well be seriously questioned if Parliament finds it necessary or prudent to pass such laws with any frequency.  Indeed, the position in our view is made worse when some of them, far from being restrictive, are plainly beneficial in that they make available social and economic advantages never before enjoyed.  We think therefore that it is better to define the rights and freedoms not in absolute but in qualified terms so that everyone should know and understand that they are limited in scope.  At the same time, the permitted qualifications should not extend beyond what is reasonably justifiable in a society having a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual or during a period of emergency beyond what is reasonably justifiable for the purpose of dealing with the situation existing during that period. (Source: Report of the Constitution Commission, Item 81)

Clearly at the time of consultation,  the Bar Association was out of touch with the needs of our developing society and had its recommendations been adopted the citizenry would now be eating the bread the devil knead.

So, I wish to congratulate Justice Archie on his new appointment and echo Lucky’s encouragement  “Go Archie, go!”