The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

CHIEF Justice Sir Hartman Longley will continue as the country’s top judge for another two years, an announcement from the Cabinet Office confirmed yesterday.

At last month’s opening ceremony for the new legal year, Sir Hartman announced that he and Justice Rhonda Bain were set to reach the mandatory retirement age in February and April respectively, adding that the latter had made an application for an extension to continue as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Roger Gomez retired from the bench on January 25 after receiving a two-month extension last November.

A statement issued by Cabinet Office yesterday noted that in accordance with Article 96 (1) of the Constitution, Governor-General Dame Marguerite Pindling, acting on the recommendation of Prime Minister Perry Christie, after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition Loretta Butler-Turner, has extended Sir Hartman’s appointment.

There was no mention of Justice Bain’s application.

On Monday, Justice Bain dismissed Mr Christie’s “no merit” recusal application which argued that she, while awaiting an approval of her application to extend her tenure as a Supreme Court judge, cannot be perceived to be impartial in hearing an ongoing judicial review into allegations that Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard illegally increased the size of his property.

Attorneys for the prime minister filed a motion in the Supreme Court on January 26 asking that Justice Bain recuse herself from the judicial review - or any other cases in which he is a party - on the basis that she is set to attain the legal age for retirement in April.

The motion was filed by Mr Christie’s lawyers in his capacity as minister responsible for Crown land and was argued on January 30.

In her 40-page ruling on the recusal, Justice Bain reminded Mr Christie of the independence of the judiciary from the executive, stressing that cases are distributed by the Chief Justice - a role that cannot be “usurped by the prime minister.”

The judge also said the prime minister should have immediately filed a motion seeking her recusal if he had concerns, instead of choosing to “sit back and do nothing for upwards of seven months” while other Nygard matters were continuing in court.

No indication was given on Monday that the ruling would be contested and an appeal had not been filed to the Court of Appeal up to press time.