The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Before I start this letter, I plead ignorance – ignorance of the facts of the case, but not of the judicial principles.

I always understood that the position of attorney general was to be free of politics. The person in this position was to make decisions based on facts, not on political considerations of the party in power.

I don’t pretend to know anything about the rights or wrongs of the Sandals case or for the justification of the nolle prosequi pronounced by the Attorney General dismissing the case with the unions.

However, I am surprised – no stunned – by the reaction of the Attorney General’s political colleagues, who have criticised her for not telling many of the political entities involved before making her judicial announcement. These parties included, not only the union leader, but such political colleagues as Labour Minister Shane Gibson, Deputy Prime Minister Brave Davis, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe and others.

Does this suggest that Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson is expected to make a judgment on behalf of a litigant, not based on the law, but after discussion with her colleagues? Say this is not so. However, I do understand that petty dictators are born every day – and their first attack is at the heart of justice. It is now for us to stop them.

The rumour floating around — and daily getting stronger – is that Attorney-General Maynard Gibson is shortly to be announced as the new Chief Justice. Will this be a Chief Justice who will sit around the Cabinet table and have to toe the party line to the extent that she will have to consult with her Prime Minister and certain party heavyweights before she can hand down an objective judgment?

I suggest that any such proposal be stopped immediately. Instead immediate steps should be taken to appoint an independent prosecutor with respected legal qualifications to replace the function of the Attorney General.

The rumour is that there are already underground scoundrels sniffing around to find a way to undermine any independent judge that might get in their way.

We are living in perilous times, with evil men polluting this planet. It is now time for every citizen to be vigilant. The courts are our last bastion – their integrity must be protected at all cost.

INDEPENDENT

Nassau,

September 24, 2016.