Bahamas: Attorney voices concern over retired politicians on bench

By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
tthompson@tribunemedia.net:



ATTORNEY Damian Gomez contends that the number of retired politicians who are taking up positions on the bench makes it harder for lawyers to find a sitting judge without an apparent conflict of interest in civil suits against the AG's office.

Mr Gomez claims this has created a court backlog contributing to deteriorating public confidence in the legal system.

His comments add to the growing concern that the anticipated appointment of former MP Malcolm Adderley to the Supreme Court bench will undermine the independence of the judiciary from the influence of the executive branch of Government.

"It's just an impossible situation and now we have another person (who may be appointed to the bench) which may add to the difficulty in getting a judge who may or may not have a conflict.

"What it does is lend credence to the critics of our court system, who say all it is, is politics. I'm not prepared to say it's political interference, I don't know, it doesn't have the right smell. It undermines the public confidence of the (court), " he said when contacted yesterday for comment.

Mr Adderley is 64 years old, just shy of the mandatory retirement age of 65 for a judge. It has been rumoured in political circles that Mr Adderley will be offered an extension past the normal retirement age from Government.

Mr Gomez thinks Mr Adderley is qualified for the job but said this reported arrangement would suggest that the ex-MP "will not be as conflict-free in public law matters as he ought".

"I happen to like Malcolm Adderley as a person but I'm just saying that I just find it strange that on the eve of the age of ordinary retirement, he would be given a post which would, in order to make sense, would require him to be extended beyond two years," he continued.

There is also a cry for constitutional reform in order to limit the control a prime minister has over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

Pushing for such reform is fringe political group, the National Development Party, which questioned if Mr Adderley used his political leverage as a bargaining chip to secure a judicial post. The NDP argued that his resignation from the House was proof that the constitution is "vulnerable to abuse."

"It is because our constitution was not designed to protect the citizenry from the abuse of power by the Prime Minister, that Mr Malcolm Adderley is today causing the public to question whether he used his elected office as a bargaining chip in this game of political poker that has been played between the FNM and the PLP since May of 2007," the NDP told the press in an impromptu press conference on the steps of the House of Assembly yesterday morning, after Mr Adderley resigned from Parliament.

This comes after speculation that Government wooed Mr Adderley away from the PLP with promises of a post within the Supreme Court in exchange for his seat.

The NDP said the country must institute constitutional safeguards to limit a prime minister's "absolute power", if the Bahamas plans to escape being categorised as a "Banana Republic."

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