BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ONE of the regional lawyers representing the People’s Action Movement (PAM) in the ongoing Court proceedings against the Attorney General and the Constituency Boundaries Commission (CBC) has refuted the Prime Minister’s claim that the trial is a political attack against the Government.
The opposition party PAM launched a number of injunctions against the Government and its institutions in early July, prohibiting them from making any immediate changes to the constituency boundaries in the Federation. The matter then moved to the courts and has attracted the attention of a number of legal luminaries from across the Caribbean.
In a brief statement after the morning session hearings of the matter on Wednesday (Jul. 29), Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Denzil Douglas suggested that PAM attempted to “hide behind others from outside”.
He identified two of the party’s lawyers—Mia Mottley, Leader of the Opposition in Barbados, and Kamala Persad-Bissessar, Deputy Political Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago—and referred to them as “two politicians leading the attack against the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and its people”.
In an exclusive interview yesterday (July 30) with SKNVibes, Persad-Bissessar carefully explained that the lawyers from other countries are not involved in their capacities as politicians, but have a vested interest in a case with great significance in the region’s jurisprudence, or general law philosophy.
“This is a matter of very high constitutional importance, not just for the Federation here, but for the entire Caribbean and, indeed, the entire Commonwealth jurisprudence. We are here not as politicians. When we practise at the bar, when we are being admitted to appear before the Court, it’s because of our qualifications as professionals, as lawyers,” Persad-Bissessar indicated.
When questioned PM Douglas’ statement that the regional lawyers are allowing themselves “unwittingly to be used by the PAM to destabilize the country”, the Trinidadian lawyer quickly responded: “Oh no, certainly not. I have not gone there at all. I have no intentions of so doing. I am here purely in my professional capacity as a lawyer.”
She underscored that the lawyers’ involvement in the court proceedings is about “the administration of justice and the rule of law”, noting that when the case is over it would be the judges that administer the law.
She repeatedly referred to the ongoing proceedings as “a landmark matter”, hinting that as a possible reason the case has attracted a number of regional lawyers.
“Justice must be done not just in your yard and in your home, but justice must be done in your community and in your region. That’s why we are here. This case is going to make precedent in the Commonwealth because there are so many important issues that are involved,” Persad-Bissessar concluded.
